04-13-2002
LOBBYING: U.S. Chamber Drives Highway Lobbying
Just two months ago, things looked bleak for Washington's highway
community when the Bush administration announced that it was slashing
federal highway funding by almost $9 billion.
To the concrete-and-asphalt lobby, it was bad enough that the
administration wanted only $23.2 billion for road-building in fiscal 2003,
down from $31.8 billion this year. Making matters worse, lobbyists said,
the 2003 figure serves as the baseline for next year's much-anticipated
highway reauthorization bill, raising the likelihood of a much smaller
highway measure than they had been expecting. But advocates have fought
back. And a surprising leader has spearheaded the effort: the powerful
U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Through a new coalition-Americans for Transportation Mobility-the chamber
has led the charge for a measure that would add $4.4 billion to the
administration's 2003 highway-funding blueprint. The chamber tapped its
vaunted grassroots network to get its members behind the legislation, and
it ran advertisements in Roll Call and National Journal's CongressDaily to
drum up more support. So far, the effort has paid off. The House passed a
budget resolution that included the additional $4.4 billion, while the
Senate Budget Committee went further, adding $5.7 billion. Even the
administration has signaled support for a $4.4 billion increase.
Throughout its 90-year history, the chamber has been a chief supporter of
corporate America, pushing for tax cuts, free trade, and other
pro-business measures. But the chamber's role in the highway-funding
debate shows it has begun to play an influential role in transportation
issues and is ready to join forces with Washington's pork-barrel
gang.
Not surprisingly, highway lobbyists have given the chamber a big pat on
the back. "The budget cut was their first test," said Peter
Loughlin of the Associated General Contractors of America. "They
responded quickly, loudly, and effectively."
It was the highway lobby that wanted the chamber to get more involved in
transportation. More than a year ago, T. Peter Ruane, head of the American
Road & Transportation Builders Association, asked chamber President
and CEO Thomas J. Donohue if he was interested in leading a new Washington
coalition that would press for more transportation investment. Ruane was
already thinking about the 2003 reauthorization measure. Donohue said yes
because he realized that transportation spending helps the economy and
creates jobs.
Americans for Transportation Mobility now has 327 members, including
national associations and local chambers of commerce. And in addition to
Ruane's group, the coalition's management committee includes such heavy
hitters as the Associated General Contractors, the Air Transport
Association, the American Public Transportation Association, the Laborers'
International Union of North America, and the International Union of
Operating Engineers.
Indeed, Americans for Transportation Mobility isn't just about highways.
While highway funding has been the top priority so far, the coalition will
also be advocating investment in waterways and airports, and it will seek
to expedite transportation construction projects that often get stalled by
environmental regulations.
"This isn't about building roads," said Ed Mortimer, a former
ARTBA lobbyist who now manages the coalition. "It's about creating
mobility for our economy, and that broadens the base for
support."
Besides tapping the chamber for its vast lobbying resources and grassroots
network, ARTBA and other road-builder groups enlisted the chamber because
they believed it would be more persuasive if the business community as a
whole was leading the drive for more transportation spending. Donohue's
own expertise and connections in the transportation world were also a huge
plus. Before heading the chamber, Donohue ran the American Trucking
Associations.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the chamber's coalition is its
strange-bedfellows alliance with labor groups. This battle over
transportation investment is one of those rare instances in which labor
and business seem to have found common ground. And as Loughlin explained,
this labor-business alliance packs a punch. "It's pretty powerful
when labor and the Chamber of Commerce come together," he said.
"That is not very common. People realize that this is a formidable
group."
In fact, coalition members say this issue has led to labor and business
working together on energy policy and immigration reform. "We are
talking with the chamber on other issues," said Terence O'Sullivan,
general president of the laborers union. "We have found areas where
we can work together."
Not all the members of Washington's highway community, however, are
excited about the new broad-based coalition. The American Highway Users
Alliance-which led a similar coalition, Keep America Moving, during the
last highway reauthorization fight-has not joined the chamber-led group.
William Fay, president and CEO of the alliance, stresses that he shares
the coalition's goal of obtaining more investment in transportation. But
Fay believes that the coalition's membership of airport, airplane,
railroad, and transit interests is too broad, and that it might keep
highway groups from achieving their goal of securing as much money as
possible for road building.
Still, the rest of the transportation community seems impressed with the
coalition. "I am very pleased," said Frank Hanley, general
president of the operating engineers. "Somebody has to educate the
public about the value of transportation. Through this vehicle, we seem to
be getting the job done."
Mark Murray
National Journal
