Bridge bill pared from $25 billion to $2 billion

Minnesota Democrat Jim Oberstar, bowing to political reality, unveiled a bare-bones bridge repair and reconstruction bill without a 5-cent-a-gallon federal gas tax increase. The move appears to end debate on Capitol Hill over a national gas tax hike in response to the I-35W bridge tragedy in Minneapolis.

By Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune

Last update: October 30, 2007 - 11:05 PM

WASHINGTON - Minnesota Democrat Jim Oberstar, bowing to political reality, unveiled a bare-bones bridge repair and reconstruction bill Tuesday without a 5-cent-a-gallon federal gas tax increase.

The move by the influential chairman of the House Transportation Committee appears to end debate on Capitol Hill over a national gas tax hike in response to the Interstate 35W bridge tragedy in Minneapolis.

Oberstar, saying "fixing bridges is more important than fighting the White House and the Senate," is now proposing a $2 billion federal bridge program, a far cry from the $25 billion initiative he had hoped to pass with a stepped-up gas tax, which received a tepid response from Republicans, as well as many Democrats in Congress.

The Bush administration, which has argued that new money is not needed to tackle the nation's infrastructure problems, welcomed the decision, which forestalls what could have been a divisive budget battle.

"This is exactly the wrong time to raise gas taxes, when oil is already at record levels," White House spokesman Alex Conant said. "Before we consider raising taxes, the Congress should examine how they set their spending priorities."

Oberstar, who has spearheaded efforts to secure federal funds for the collapsed I-35W bridge, acknowledged that a gas tax increase faced bleak prospects heading into an election year.

"This is not the bill I hoped to introduce," said Oberstar, adding that "anyone who claims we can fix over 73,000 structurally deficient bridges without additional revenue is not telling you the whole truth."

Under a measure that he plans to take up today in the Transportation Committee, Oberstar would spend $1 billion in each of the next two years on repairs to the nation's worst bridges. The money would come from general funds.

Dubbed the National Highway Bridge Inspection and Reconstruction Act, it would create tougher national standards for inspections of bridges such as the 40-year-old 35W span, which was on the verge of meeting federal guidelines for replacement.

The bill also mandates better training for bridge inspectors, as well as annual inspections of bridges rated structurally deficient.

No pork allowed

Oberstar, who faces criticism along with other members of Congress for steering federal transportation dollars toward bike trails and other pet projects, vowed that the new bridge repair money would only be allocated on a public safety formula.

Aides said the bill will also be designed to restrict a controversial accounting process whereby states can forfeit federal dollars dedicated to deficient and obsolete bridges, and use the money for other transportation priorities instead.

Under that process, Minnesota transportation officials have rescinded more than $60 million in federal aid for substandard bridges since 2003. Oberstar has criticized the practice, but Minnesota Transportation Department administrators say it gives them more flexibility in putting transportation dollars where they are most needed, including bridges.

Oberstar said he still supports a more ambitious national bridge program patterned after the Highway Trust Fund, which is funded by an 18.4 percent federal fuel tax. His original proposal, laid out in the weeks after the Aug. 1 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, would have added another nickel to that.

That proposal found support among some fellow Democrats on the Transportation Committee, as well as local DFLers such as Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who testified before Congress last month.

But U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, echoing President Bush, rejected the idea, saying Congress could make better use of existing funds or turn to tolls and other sources of new dollars.

Election year a big factor

The tax increase turned out to be a tough sell even among Minnesota Democrats in Congress, including freshman Rep. Tim Walz, who is likely to face a tough reelection battle next year.

Walz, like most other members of the state's House delegation, took no public position on Oberstar's tax hike proposal, even though he is on the Transportation Committee.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Sens. Norm Coleman, a Republican, and Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, both called for alternatives.

A spokesman for Klobuchar, Linden Zakula, said she "would generally be supportive" of Oberstar's new proposal without the tax increase.

LeRoy Coleman, a spokesman for Sen. Coleman, said the senator "is particularly pleased to see there is not an increase in the gas tax in this bill."

Oberstar said that while the new legislation calls for a fraction of the estimated $188 billion that the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it would take to fix all the nation's structurally deficient bridges, it is a "good start" in laying the foundation for future legislation.

Kevin Diaz • 1-202-408-2753

Kevin Diaz • kdiaz@startribune.com

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