Foxx, Rockefeller, Manchin & Rahall Call for Infrastructure Funding at W.Va. Transportation Summit

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the West Virginia Transportation & Infrastructure Summit, hosted by the Discover the Real West Virginia Foundation, in Charleston. I'm not quite up to "live blogging" but here is a "within 24 hours" post on the event. The DRWV Foundation was created by Sen. Rockefeller in 1988 to promote West Virginia as a viable business environment nationally and internationally.

Speaking at the Transportation Summit were U.S. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, West Virginia's U.S. Senators (Rockefeller, Manchin) and Ranking Member of the House Transportation Committee, Nick Rahall. Not surprisingly, all endorsed breaking the political logjam in Washington in the interest of regular funding of transportation infrastructure.

Here are some highlights by speaker:

Secretary Foxx:

Secretary Foxx described transportation infrastructure as a legacy to leave to future generations, asking the question whether we will leave behind a stronger transportation system? He referred to 27 "band aid" funding measures in last 5 years in Congress, preventing states from planning long-term projects and maintenance. Referring specifically to the imperiled Highway Trust Fund, the Secretary warned that unless funding is restored, the Department will implement "cash management measures" by August 1, which likely means most states will receive only a half of their allocated highway funds.

The Secretary, with a nod to the West Virginia audience, reminded everyone, the song does not go "country road, can't take me home," and emphasized the solution as the infrastructure package proposed by the President in the Grow America Act. Here is a link to DOT's summary of the Act.

Rockefeller:


After receiving awards from W.Va.'s aviation community, Sen. Rockefeller continued his habit of frank comments since his announced his retirement. He lamented he was "profoundly frustrated" and noted "Today we cannot even fund yesterday's needs."

Manchin:


Sen. Manchin encouraged West Virginia to leverage the current energy boom in the state to work cooperatively with its energy producing neighbors, Ohio and Pennsylvania, much like Texas and Oklahoma have.

Regarding the Highway Trust Fund impasse, he regretted that "politics outpaces policy now" and that a stop gap measure is probably the best that can be expected.

On a humorous note, in referring to the cost of reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, he quipped that if we build roads and bridges in W.Va., "we won't blow them up or burn them down."

Rahall:

Rep. Rahall predicted cooler heads will prevail and likely pass a stop gap measure to save the Highway Trust Fund. He stated there was hope for a longer term bill in the lame duck session after the 2014 election, and emphasized the importance of not letting the HTF go bankrupt.