Fact Checker: Monica Vernon on highway funding

Introduction

'That's where we deal with Section 8 housing, for example. That's where we deal with whether there's a highway bill. Are we ever going to get another one, by the way?”

Source of claim: Former Cedar Rapids City Council member Monica Vernon, running for U.S. House District 1, made these comments April 13 in a debate in Dubuque with Pat Murphy, who she faces in the Democratic primary.

Analysis

Vernon was responding to a question about her lack of legislative experience when she said the impact of federal laws is first felt in cities and counties. The part of the statement we're checking is 'Are we ever going to get another one, by the way?” which referred to a federal highway bill.

A Gazette reader brought her claim to our attention because he thought Vernon was saying the United States is waiting on legislation to fix roads, bridges and rail lines.

In fact, Congress approved and President Barack Obama signed a five-year infrastructure bill in December that provides $305 billion for transportation projects.

Vernon knows about the legislation, called the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, campaign manager Michelle Gajewski said.

'She did not say that we had not passed one recently,” Gajewski said. 'She was asking if we'd ever even be able to pass another one, given how long it took to pass this one. Or are we doomed to short-term fixes when we need long-term substantive investment in our roads, bridges and other infrastructure - especially right here in Iowa?”

We'll take Vernon at her word. It's unlikely someone running for Congress would not know about the FAST Act. But Gajewsi went on to say that even that is lacking.

'Furthermore,” she said, 'the one that was passed at the end of 2015 doesn't even come close to fully funding our infrastructure needs.”

Fact Checker will examine the recent history of highway legislation and the Vernon campaign claim that federal transportation funding is been inadequate.

Before FAST, the last highway bill lasting more than two years was signed in 2005 by President George W. Bush. That legislation expired in 2009, but Congress renewed the formula nine times until replacing the bill in 2012.

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, which Obama signed July 6, 2012, was a two-year reauthorization, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported. MAP-21 was extended 10 times, according to the DOT's Federal Highway Administration.

Within 2015 alone, highway funding was kicked down the road several times before Congress could agree on a multiyear fix.

Short-term extensions make it difficult for states to plan large projects, said Shawn Majors, transportation planner for the Iowa DOT's Office of Program Management. 'They put these stopgap measures in place to cover you for eight months, but then you're back in the same boat,” he said.

Because of more fuel-efficient vehicles, gas taxes and fees collected by the Federal Highway Trust Fund haven't been enough to pay for transportation projects across the country, said John Fuller, a University of Iowa professor of urban and regional planning.

And Congress hasn't had the desire to increase the gas tax or implement a new funding mechanism.

'We've not been charging the users for the full extent of expenditures,” Fuller said.

The new law will be paid for with about $34 billion a year in gas tax revenue and a package of $70 billion in offsets from other areas of the federal budget, including changes to customs fees and passport rules for applicants who have delinquent taxes, The Hill reported.

Conclusion

Vernon is right that Congress has a history of passing stopgap transportation packages. Even the new bill doesn't solve the problem of gas taxes not covering approved projects.

But Vernon's April 13 statement of 'Are we ever going to get another one?” was ambiguous. It was misinterpreted by at least one listener. We give her a B

.

Criteria

The Fact Checker team checks statements made by an Iowa political candidate/office holder or a national candidate/office holder about Iowa, or in advertisements that appear in our market. Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context.

If you spot a claim you think needs checking, email us at factchecker@thegazette.com.

This Fact Checker was researched and written by Erin Jordan.