An Action Plan for Saving America’s Transportation Infrastructure
By: Philip K. Howard
Last week, President Trump issued an executive order directing agencies to use their emergency powers to waive environmental review and certain environmental requirements “to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law.” The stated goal is to assist recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown by stimulating infrastructure projects.
The order goes too far: Accelerating permitting can be achieved without abandoning environmental protections. The order also does too little: It will get bogged down in litigation by environmental groups challenging the president’s authority to disregard statutes. Indeed, the purported waiver of environmental laws may be designed to achieve nothing, much like the “messaging bills” proposed in Congress with no hope of enactment.
Rebuilding America’s decrepit infrastructure would be a fabulous way to come out of the COVID shutdown — a million or more jobs, most of which are outdoors. How do we do that?
What’s missing is a coherent authority structure to make needed choices. This requires action by Congress to create a workable permitting framework and to provide for funding. The Trump administration acts by executive order because, early on, it concluded that dealing with Congress is hopeless. But COVID is different, and Congress has demonstrated an ability to act.
For over a decade, political leaders have promised a national infrastructure initiative. “Infrastructure week” comes and goes each year in Washington, like some pagan ritual for a good harvest. But nothing much has happened because there’s no clear path to saying yes to specific projects. Here’s a four-step plan to get projects going:
1. Permitting. The president lacks the authority to navigate the inconsistent dictates imposed over the past 50 years. The red-tape jungle is impassable. Blocking projects is like shooting fish in a barrel. Congress must provide explicit authority to designated officials to decide on the scope of review and give permits, including enforcing deadlines and resolving conflicts among agencies. The nonpartisan group Common Good, which I lead, has a three-page proposed bill.
2. Funding. Congress must create a mechanism to set priorities for infrastructure funding. To avoid projects like the “bridge to nowhere,” it should create a National Infrastructure Board that, similar to base-closing commissions, could propose a list of projects that Congress could vote up or down. Australia uses a similar mechanism to decide what gets funded.
3. Avoiding featherbedding and waste. Archaic work rules for public projects can double or triple the cost of projects in some states. Rigidities in procurement guidelines can take a year or more, cause costly change orders, and often result in unreliable vendors who low-ball bids and “get well” with change orders. Federal funding should come with a condition that states follow commercially reasonable practices in contracts. Setting these guidelines could be another responsibility of a National Infrastructure Board.
4. Immediately authorize shovel-ready projects. There are a number of projects of national significance that have been held up by political disputes. The New York region has half a dozen major projects that could be started in the near-term. The Gateway rail tunnel under the Hudson River into Manhattan, for example, is a $30 billion project that is vital to the economic health of 20% of the nation’s economy. But Trump refuses to move it forward unless New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker give him something in return, such as approving funding for his proposed wall on the border with Mexico. So, the project has been languishing on the desk of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao for two years.
Getting serious about infrastructure requires a concrete plan. The Trump administration should propose legislation that creates the authority mechanisms needed to move projects forward. Then the onus would be on Congress to follow through. In the meantime, the Trump administration could release its hold on large projects in New York and around the country. For the economy to recover from COVID, the public needs an action plan, not more posturing.
Source: Washington Examiner