Members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's National Transportation Policy Project Call for New Approach to Transportation Funding

/PRNewswire/ -- A new report released today, authored by two members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's (BPC) National Transportation Policy Project, called on the Administration and Congress to change their approach to transportation policy saying that "the nation can no longer afford to support poorly targeted investments when the needs are so great and public resources are so constrained." The report authors, Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Martin Wachs, spoke at a press conference to release the report in Washington, D.C.

"The future of transportation policy is central to economic policy. Despite what has long been argued, investments in transportation infrastructure are not guaranteed to create jobs and simultaneously grow the economy. We must ruthlessly focus on economic growth, immediately and in the future," said Dr. Holtz-Eakin. "The need for investment is clear: our roads are deteriorating and our transportation systems are not equipped to handle increasing capacity. Still, we cannot devote additional dollars, much less borrowed dollars, to transportation programs that provide an uncertain number of jobs and no lasting economic benefit."

The report, Strengthening Connections Between Transportation Investments and Economic Growth, outlines three specific policy changes the Administration and Congress can make to ensure that scarce public dollars are spent wisely and, at the same time, create employment opportunities in the short-term and contribute to the nation's economic recovery in the long-term.

First, the report recommends that no new funds be allocated to existing transportation programs if they provide questionable job-creation, unclear long-term benefits or if the programs are solely an effort to increase short-term employment. Second, investments should be directed to programs that are both "shovel-ready" and provide long-term benefits. These investments can help ease unemployment while also building the nation's economic future. Finally, federal transportation investments should not be constrained by the silos and restrictions that dominate the federal government's existing surface transportation program. "Instead of focusing on how the money is spent – that is, on whether funds go to operations versus capital or to highway versus transit – the focus must shift to the outcomes being achieved with a particular expenditure," said the report. "If the most pressing outcomes at this point in time relate to job creation and long-term economic recovery, both of those outcomes should drive decisions about how to allocate federal resources and measure progress."

"In addition to addressing long-term transportation-related objectives including safety, energy independence, and environmental sustainability, Congress should consider investments that result in higher productivity," said Dr. Wachs. "These investments will improve economic well-being by increasing connectivity and accessibility to jobs while reducing congestion. Ideally, there is an approach to transportation investment that advances both goals - enduring productivity gains and immediate job creation. To do this, there must be flexibility within the system to pursue the highest returns on spending."

The BPC's National Transportation Policy Project is a group dedicated to reforming federal surface transportation policy in a way that ensures federal investments are held accountable for demonstrating results toward the achievement of national goals. Its members include former Republican and Democratic members of Congress, local-elected officials, business and civic leaders, and transportation stakeholders and experts. The project released its blueprint for surface transportation reform, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy, in June 2009.

"We have repeatedly argued that not all transportation investments are equally effective, and that future transportation spending must be driven by considerations of economic merit and guided by clearly articulated federal goals, including economic growth, metropolitan accessibility, environmental protection and energy security, and safety," said JayEtta Hecker, Director of Transportation Advocacy at the BPC. "The report released today emphasizes the need for long-term returns rather than just short-term gains."

Read the full report at http://bipartisanpolicy.org/library/research/transportation-investments.

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Biden Admits "Stimulus" Spending Scheme Is Falling Short, Says Dems "Misread the Economy"

Washington Democrats are officially all over the map on the spending binge known as the “stimulus.” Vice President Joe Biden was one of many Democrats scrambling over the weekend to defend the trillion-dollar “stimulus” that, by any objective account, isn’t working. The Obama Administration’s latest excuse for the bill’s poor returns? On ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, the Vice President claimed, “The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy.”

This change in rhetoric comes less than two months after the Vice President issued his initial report on the “stimulus,” in which he said the package was “ahead of schedule.”

Here’s another example of Democrats’ mixed messages on wasteful stimulus spending:
Yesterday on ABC, the Vice President asserted, “There were predictions that this was going to be wasteful and all these terrible projects were going to be out there, and we’re wasting money. Well, that dog hasn’t barked yet.”

Yet just last month, in a roundtable to discuss the “success” of the stimulus, the Vice President admitted, “We know some of this money is going to be wasted… Some people are being scammed already.”

The “dog” to which the Vice President referred is now barking, and her name is Ellie Mae, the bloodhound House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) sent out looking for jobs created by the “stimulus” in a lighthearted web video released last week. In an appearance yesterday on Fox News Sunday, Boehner underscored the fact that the “stimulus” bill isn’t working and reiterated Republicans’ support for a real stimulus – one that empowers families and small businesses to keep more of what they earn so they can save, invest, and create jobs:

“This was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, and jobs and the fact is it turned into nothing but spending, spending and more spending on a lot of big government bureaucracy… All it does is fund more government. If you really want to get the economy going, you have to trust small businesses and the American people to reinvest their own money. So we ought to try a real stimulus bill and allow them to keep more of what they earn.”

As the “stimulus” continues to fall short of its goals, how will Democrats try to move the goalposts next? What rhetoric will they use to backtrack off of previous predictions and statements? And, most importantly, how hard will Democrats continue to block a real stimulus that trusts small businesses – the real engine of our economy – to create jobs? As Congress prepares to begin a busy stretch of legislative action over the next four weeks and unemployment continues to rise, these are questions the American people need answered.

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CBO: Congressional Democrats' Trillion Dollar Spending Package "Falls Short of Obama Goal"

As the House prepares to debate the trillion dollar spending bill written by a handful of congressional Democrats, supporters of the bloated legislation have endured yet another harsh blow from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). A Reuters story titled “Stimulus Bill Falls Short of Obama Goal-CBO Report” reports that the director of CBO has advised that fast-acting tax relief for families and small businesses – not the slow-moving and wasteful government spending that dominates the congressional Democrats’ bill – would have the greatest impact on the economy in the shortest amount of time:.......

http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=109522

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