Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/620628
T he Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed by President Obama in December, provides $305 billion for high- way and transit funding through 2020 and is the fi rst long-term transportation legislation passed in 10 years. "After 36 extensions, hundreds of Congressional meet- ings, two bus tours, visits to 43 states, and so much uncertainty, it has been a long and bumpy ride to a long-term transportation bill," says Anthony Foxx, trans- portation secretary. The conference legislation was approved by the House 359 to 65, followed quickly by the Senate, which passed it on an 83 to 16 vote in a rare same-day initiative only one day prior to the expiration of the latest extension. While the bill set the highway funding course for the next fi ve years, it did so without changing the 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax, which has been static since 1993. About $70 billion of the $305 billion will come from an oddball mix of federal budget offsets, including passport revocations for "seriously delinquent" taxpayers and IRS hiring of private tax collectors. The Highway Trust Fund will get the bulk of the fund- ing at $225.2 billion, followed by public transportation at $60 billion, passenger rail at $10 billion and highway safety programs at $5 billion. Other highway programs will receive the remaining $4.8 billion. In its review of the FAST Act, the Congressional Budget Offi ce (CBO) estimated Highway Trust Fund (HTF) spending would reach $280 billion for the fi ve- year span. By the end of 2020, CBO estimates the HTF highway account will have a balance of $8 billion and the transit account will be left with $2 billion. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) considers a run- ning balance of $4 billion to be its "prudent operating balance." By comparison, fi scal year 2015 had a balance of $9 billion. The legislation also creates a National Surface Trans- portation and Innovative Finance Bureau aimed at help- ing project delivery to the state and local government level by providing what the USDOT calls a "one-stop EquipmentWorld.com | January 2016 11 reporter | by Equipment World staff 5-year FAST bill signed, fi rst long-term transportation funding solution in a decade Ed Malzahn, founder of the Charles Machine Works and its iconic Ditch Witch brand, died in December at the age of 94. In the late 1940s, Malzahn began investi- gating a better way to install residential utility services, which then involved slow pick-and- shovel labor. Both he and his father Charles spent months working in the family's Perry, Oklahoma, machine shop to create the DWP, or Ditch Witch Power, prototype. At 28, Malzahn saw the realization of his dream: the fi rst production machine, a mechanized, compact service-line tren- cher. Today, more than 1,300 employees produce a variety of underground con- struction equipment, including trenchers, vibratory plows and horizontal directional drilling systems. Twice Malzahn saw the Ditch Witch compact trencher named "one of the 100 best American-made products in the world" by Fortune magazine. To view remembrances, go to EdMalzhan.com. Malzahn, founder of Ditch Witch brand, dies at 94 (continued on page 13) While the FAST Act provides a stable source of funding for the next fi ve years, the American Road & Transportation Builders As- sociation projects funding for the Federal Aid Highway will exceed projected infl ation levels through fi scal year 2020, thus limiting the purchasing power of federal funds for highway projects. FAST Act Proposed Obligations for Federal Aid Highway Program