PEORIA, Ill. — Congress’ failure to fund highway construction projects through a long term transportation bill is prompting agriculture groups, state governors and others to press the House of Representatives to approve highway legislation before the current extension expires Oct. 29.

“We’ve continued to see Congress kind of kick the can down the road on infrastructure improvements and funding. We saw the Senate take some action at the end of summer, and now the focus turns to the House,” said Andrew Walmsley, director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). “There was a broad coalition of ag industry groups (including the AFBF) that sent a letter to the House urging action on making the necessary investment and laying out priorities as it related to transportation and agriculture.”

The AFBF letter focuses largely on rail delivery of ag products and calls for an extension of the implementation of Positive Train Control, a computerized communications system.

“We have concerns that a lot of the important inputs for agriculture, such as fertilizer, aren’t going to be able to move by rail, and this deadline approaches at the end of this year, which would have a huge impact on next year’s planting season. But we even have some railroads talking about shutting down some entire lines, which gives you pause whether we’re going to be able to move any grain on those lines if Positive Train Control is not installed on time,” Walmsley told the AFBF Newsline on Sept. 3.

Federal highway dollars expired at the end of July, resulting in a scramble to authorize yet another extension to the keep trans-portation programs afloat. Soon after, the Senate passed a six-year, bipartisan bill that includes three years of funding. Despite the endorsement of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who sent the legislation to the House just prior to the August recess, the House has failed to approve the bill. 

Congress returned from recess after Labor Day, after a letter from governors in seven Eastern states implored the House Trans-portation and Infrastructure and Ways and Means committees to “expeditiously” pass a long-term, fully funded transportation bill. “By acting expeditiously on surface transportation legislation, the Congress can assure that federal, state and private sector investments will continue to address immediate transportation needs; help maintain the full range of national economic activity that depends upon the transportation sector; and lay the foundation for longer term improvements and an efficient, effective transportation system that moves people and goods in a competitive national and global economy,” read the letter, in part, from the bipartisan Coalition of Northeastern Governors. 

Effective transportation legislation must include a sustainable revenue stream dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund, according to the governors from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. 

With the clock ticking on the latest funding extension, the onus is on the House to produce a viable transportation bill, huddle with the Senate in conference, and present a workable piece of legislation for the president to sign this autumn, according to the governors. Another area of concern to agriculture is that a key transportation provision included in the previous highway bill providing regulatory relief for covered agricultural vehicles has experienced state-by-state discrepancies in its implementation. “We’re asking Congress to make it pretty clear that states have some flexibility on being able to treat agriculture appropriately, as farmers and ranchers, and not necessarily as commercial truck drivers,” Walmsley said. 

Many in agriculture would like to see a provision in the next transportation bill that allows states the option to increase semi weight limits to 91,000 pounds. To that end, Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) introduced “The Safe, Flexible, and Efficient Trucking Act” on Sept. 10. Ribble said the measure would help accommodate the nation’s growth in demand for trucking without compromising safety or causing extra wear and tear to roads.