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By Katie Cross, Senior Associate,
Blakey & Agnew
With the risk of sounding like a broken record, the closing of 2018 brings hope for an infrastructure package in 2019. I know – in December 2017 I wrote almost the exact same thing. But in this line of business, remaining optimistic is all part of the job.
While we are in much the same place as we were in December 2017, there is reason to think that could all change come 2019. Since taking office in January 2017, President Trump's administration has listed three priorities: tax reform, health care, and infrastructure investment. A tax reform bill was signed into law, the health care debate seems to have fizzled out (for now), and will become more challenging now that Democrats have control of the House, and so the door could be opened to an infrastructure investment package.
We also have a new Congress beginning January 2019, with the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives. Along with the change in majority comes a change in leadership, current House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) will assume chairmanship of the Committee come January. The Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the 115th Congress, Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), announced his retirement this year. The present Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chair Sam Graves (R-MO) has been selected as the new top Republican on the Committee.
Republicans maintained their majority in the Senate, picking up two additional seats, but leadership in the Upper Chamber will also change. Current Commerce Committee Chairman Thune (R-SD) was elected Senate Majority Whip for the 116th Congress, so Senator Wicker (R-MS) is expected to assume the top Republican position on the Committee. Current Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) lost his bid for re-election. Senator Cantwell (D-WA) is next in line to serve as the top Democrat on the Committee but currently serves as the Ranking Member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Per Senate rules, she can only be Ranking Member of one Committee and, as of November 29, she had yet to publically announce which Ranking Membership she will assume in the 116th Congress. Should Senator Cantwell remain the Ranking Member of Energy and Natural Resources, Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) is next in line to hold the top Democrat spot on the Commerce Committee.
The new Congress will likely be eager to achieve an early win, and an infrastructure investment package could be just that. Soon-to-be Chairman DeFazio has said he is interested in taking up an infrastructure package at the start of the 116th Congress. Potential Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has also indicated that an infrastructure bill could be one area with bipartisan support. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), a sitting member of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been spearheading an effort to create a new subcommittee within the Ways and
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Means Committee that would focus solely on infrastructure funding. If created, the subcommittee would hold frequent hearings to learn about successful infrastructure funding mechanisms across the United States with the intention of developing solutions to write into a fully funded infrastructure bill.
Even without a stand-alone infrastructure package, Congress could still address some of our nation's infrastructure needs through the next surface transportation reauthorization bill. The current surface transportation authorization bill, 2015's Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, expires in 2020. During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on November 28, witnesses urged Congress to pass a reauthorization bill well before the FAST Act expires. If Congress sticks to that timeline, we will likely see work begin on a reauthorization bill in early 2019. Some Members of Congress have expressed hope the reauthorization bill will be law by the end of 2019 in order to avoid political complications that come with a presidential election year.
But still, obstacles remain in passing an infrastructure package or a reauthorization bill. New Members of Congress will need to move into their offices and get their committee assignments, delaying their ability to start on an infrastructure bill the first day of the new Congress in 2019. Not only that but with close to 100 new Members of Congress, there will need to be a strong educational effort to ensure all our Senators and Representatives know the importance of infrastructure investment. Additionally, the newly-Democratic majority House will likely be eager to hold oversight hearings on multiple fronts, pulling key committees into those investigations. And still other legislative items may cause delay: Congress has yet to pass full fiscal year 2019 (FY19) appropriations for all departments. Those federal departments that have not yet seen their FY19 appropriations bills signed into law, like the U.S. Department of Transportation, are currently operating under a continuing resolution that expires December 21, 2018. While this could ultimately be dealt with by the lame-duck 115th Congress, if they choose to pass another continuing resolution the new 116th Congress will need to pass something more long-term next calendar year. Despite all of this, Congressional interest, raising national support of infrastructure investment, and an Administration that seems to be eager to act could allow infrastructure to break through the noise – meaning 2019 might be a happy new year for infrastructure stakeholders after all.
Blakey & Agnew, LLC is a public affairs and
communications consulting firm based in
Washington, DC.
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