Long-term certainty is intact with FAST Act signed into law

With President Obama last Friday formally signing the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act into the law, it formally ends what had become the interminable question among freight transportation and logistics stakeholders and other interested observers: will there ever be a new transportation bill signed into law?

For the longest time, it seemed like the answer was a resounding “no” and for good reason, especially when one considers the arduous the journey was to get to this point.

Whether it was about raising the federal gasoline tax, which accounts for a heavy amount of road construction and repair funding, appropriations for certain modes, regulations, or about freight’s role in a new long-term bill, among others––all the while short-term extensions or continuing resolutions (of which there were more than 30 in recent years alone).

A statement issued by the Department of Transportation summarized just how much an accomplishment getting a long-term bill signed into law truly is, citing how it is the first law enacted in more than ten years that provides long-term funding certainty for surface transportation, with states and local governments able to move forward with critical transportation projects like new highways and transit times, as well as being assured they will have a long-term Federal partner, too.

DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx put the significance of getting a new bill done into clear perspective: “After hundreds of Congressional meetings, two bus tours, visits to 43 states, and so much uncertainty – and 36 short term extensions – it has been a long and bumpy ride to a long-term transportation bill.  It’s not perfect, and there is still more left to do, but it reflects a bipartisan compromise I always knew was possible.”

But, as he observes, the 11 percent boost in funding in the five-year, $305 billion FAST Act essentially serves as what he called a down payment for building a 21st century transportation system is still “far short of the amount needed to reduce congestion on our roads and meet the increasing demands on our transportation systems, adding that i]n comparison, the Administration’s proposal, the GROW AMERICA Act, increases funding by 45 percent.”

Despite that gap in funding targets, there is now a new bill in place, and that is reason for optimism going forward, as it provides certainty for various state, federal transportation projects, many of which have a freight- or trade-related focus and stand to help move things forward in the name of economic progress and American competitiveness.

Yes, there is a long way to go to get to where our Nation needs to be when it comes to improving our transportation infrastructure. But, again, nothing happens without a long-term plan in place, and that is where we now are––finally.

As for what happens next with a bill in place will require a bit of time and patience, as the FAST Act has myriad supply chain- freight-, and logistics-related components that largely stand to aid productivity and efficiency on several fronts. That is something to look forward to, much more, than, say, hoping for another short-term extension, which then expires, and leads to another one. That is a pattern that we are all thankful to see come to an end.

Newsroom Notes congratulates Congress and the many shipper, carrier, infrastructure, and modal groups that made their voices heard in the long journey it took to get the FAST Act signed into law.