Chris Runyan
OCA President
Fifteen OCA members and industry associates held productive meetings with members of Ohio’s Congressional delegation at the 25th annual Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In to Washington, D.C. on May 16th and 17th. OCA participants held meetings with 11 of Ohio’s 17 legislators, either personally or with their respective staff, to highlight issues that are of national importance and impact to Ohio’s heavy/highway construction industry.
The TCC Fly-In is a partnership of 34 national associations and construction labor unions. It is co-hosted by OCA’s national affiliates, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The first day of the Fly-In consists of a series of informational speakers including influential Congressional leaders dealing with transportation issues of the day. Briefing and leave behind materials are prepared for Hill visits (referring to Capitol Hill). The first day concluded with a briefing from AGC and ARTBA staff on the issues suggested for discussion during the next day’s visits.
The TCC prepared briefing papers on four specific topics. These included:
Federal spending cut-back proposals are being considered related to the debt ceiling. This would adversely impact the federal government’s ability to maintain funding levels that are included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). In the IIJA, signed into law in November 2021, Congress and President Joe Biden made a five-year commitment to the American people to invest in long-awaited and much-needed improvements to infrastructure – many projects which legislators and the President have touted in their re-election reminders. To improve the safety and quality of life of Americans and create and maintain construction jobs, Congress must retain promised funding levels or suffer the consequences of delaying critical projects across the country.
Even with enhanced funding, timely delivery of projects is reliant upon permitting and regulatory processes that quickly move projects from planning to design, to construction. Examples of actions that would better streamline project development would include deterring unwarranted litigation and mitigating permitting review delays at federal agencies; requiring a two-year deadline for completing major project reviews; and enacting page limits on environmental review documents.
Airport funding is set to expire on September 30. When it was last authorized in 2018, Airport Improvement Program (AIP) caps were not increased resulting in no overall increase to that program since 2012. The 2018 law also failed to increase the cap on the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). The request from TCC is to increase AIP investment levels and eliminate caps on the PFC to allow airports the flexibility to raise resources for their own, unique infrastructure needs.
The fourth consideration is to begin in earnest discussions on Highway Trust Fund (HTF) revenue, recognizing that the federal motor fuels tax has not been increased since 1993. In the interim, increased funding for transportation has come through supplemental funding from the General Revenue Fund. To further exacerbate the problem, the vehicle fleet is becoming ever more efficient and moving more and more toward electrification, further reducing gas tax revenue into the HTF. The discussion needs to begin today to identify new funding streams that will feed into the HTF.
Conversations with Ohio’s federal lawmakers were not limited to these four national topics. OCA participants also had opportunities to enlighten the delegation on how the growth of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) was being stifled through frozen earnings caps and the paperwork nightmare of becoming a certified DBE. In turn, this lack of growth stymies a company’s ability to grow into new service areas and, ultimately, graduating from the program. The negative impacts go beyond just the DBE company itself. It also limits the number of DBE-owned companies available to meet program goals that are established to meet the contractual requirements placed upon prime contractors.
As you can see, there was a lot to talk with legislators about. The informal setting for each of these meetings allows that conversation to take place in a personal, face-to-face manner. OCA members have consistently commented on how much they appreciated sharing their views with legislators and what they took away from those meetings. The TCC is open to any OCA member who would like to attend. Next year, we hope that you can experience sharing your thoughts, along with your peers, with those whom you elect to represent you on one of the largest stages in the world.