A majority of voters nationwide want Congress to act before critical funding for surface transportation infrastructure runs out at the end of the fiscal year in September, according to a new national poll of 10,000 voters released July 2.
With 81% supporting the bill, there was a strong sense of urgency for passage of the funding measure that is now pending before Congress is reauthorized. At about $580 billion, the bipartisan bill would provide funding for highway and rail projects over five years. But the bill is stuck in a deadlocked Congress that has left Washington, DC, for a two-week recess. When lawmakers return on July 13, they’ll face debate on a host of other major bills before emerging from the long August recess.
“The good news is that most state and local officials have long understood the wisdom of investing in transportation and, more often than not, have had a good partner in the federal government when it comes to funding roads, bridges and transit systems,” Jeff Shoaf, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America, said at a July 2 news conference to announce the survey results. “But whether the global economy and construction employment continue to grow is at risk because it requires Congress to act.
The poll also shows that 80 percent of voters want federal funding to remain at least as strong as it is now.
The reauthorization bill would provide about 80 percent of the funding for major transportation projects, but it depends on Congress to pass it, Shoaf said. “That’s what worries us.” He said Congress struggles to get bills passed on time and if it doesn’t pass this bill, state transportation projects that spur broader economic growth and a wide range of new construction would suffer.
“We are concerned that Washington will focus on bipartisan bickering instead of the difficult work of finishing, drafting, debating and passing a new surface transportation law by the end of September,” he said.
When asked about the likelihood the bill will expire this year, Shoaf noted that the bill passed its House committee with broad bipartisan support and that it’s something lawmakers can “delay” and bring up in the midterm elections this November.
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The poll also found that 76 percent of voters are more likely to support a member of Congress who helps pass the bill.
The survey asked several questions about key issues that AGC supports. These include the first-of-its-kind requirement that owners of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids pay a federal highway fee of $130 a year to use the nation’s transportation system, a measure supported by 68 percent of respondents.
Another AGC priority raised in the survey is a requirement that would establish advanced safety features such as barriers and speed cameras in road work zones to protect workers, a measure that 75% of respondents supported. Work zones are the most dangerous stretch of road for workers, AGC said.
The AGC, which commissioned Morning Consult to conduct the poll, also launched a $2 million digital and social media advertising campaign, called America’s Moving Forward, in May to educate the public and urge voters to pressure their congressional representatives to pass the bill.
The ads highlight the benefits of having a federally funded site, Shoaf said. “We urge people to visit the page, learn even more about the benefits of having a new federal transportation bill, and then use the links provided to contact your members of Congress and tell them to make this a priority,” he said. Responses to those ads so far have echoed survey results, he added.
So far, the ads have run in 12 states and generated 30,000 letters to members of Congress urging them to pass the bill, Shoaf said.
