To: Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: February 10, 2021
Subject: Taxpayer considerations and amendment proposals for the Committee’s reconciliation bill
Introduction and Key Taxpayer Considerations for the Reconciliation Bill
National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization. As the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marks up its reconciliation bill, NTU believes this bill contains provisions that would deeply impact taxpayers and the federal budget. While we have supported previous bipartisan efforts to provide economic relief to the American people, including the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act of 2020, we are concerned that current stimulus efforts aren’t targeted, potentially wasteful, and in some cases unnecessary. We wish to share some of our topline considerations for taxpayers regarding this bill. They are:
Funding for items unrelated to the pandemic;
Billions of dollars in duplicative spending; and
Relief for specific industries.
Additionally, this legislation nears $100 billion topline cost that appears to have no significant offsets; this is deeply concerning given the nation’s current deficit and debt situations and given the trillions of dollars already appropriated to combat the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19.
Amendments That Could Improve the Committee’s Reconciliation Bill
Though we believe that several proposals in this reconciliation bill should not be advanced by the Committee under any circumstances, we hope to offer constructive amendment ideas that would, on net, improve the bill. They are:
Subtitle A - Transportation and Infrastructure
Recommended Changes
Reduce funding levels in Section 7001. This provision allocates $50 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nearly twice its annual budget. This legislation does not indicate where this money will flow, potentially leading to billions being spent on items unrelated to the pandemic. Further, these funds are made available until 2025, long beyond the expected end of the COVID-19 crisis.
Repeal Section 7003. This section includes $3 billion for economic development. Since the federal government has spent, and is currently considering spending, trillions of dollars it is not clear that this money is needed. The trillions already appropriated -- much of which has not been spent -- coupled with Americans receiving the vaccine means the economy will soon open up and the recovery can take off.
Repeal Section 7004. This provision provides $1.5 million “to support the operations, maintenance, and capital infrastructure activities of the Seaway International Bridge.” This is not directly related to the pandemic and would not bring relief to those impacted by the current crisis.
Repeal Section 7005. This section provides $1.5 billion in funding for mismanaged Amtrak. This funding comes after Congress provided Amtrak $1 billion in the December 2020 COVID relief legislation.
Amend Section 7006. This section provides $30 billion in grants to the Federal Transit Administration. Considering Congress just allocated the FTA $15 billion in the December 2020 COVID relief legislation, this section should be reduced by $10-15 billion.
Page 8, Line 18. Change the date from September 30, 2024 to September 30, 2022 to ensure funds for the FTA go towards immediate COVID-related needs.
Reduce Aid to Airports. This section provides airports $8 billion in funding. Since Congress has already appropriated more than $12 billion for airports through multiple pieces of relief legislation, it is fiscally unnecessary to allocate another $8 billion. With airports almost made whole by the federal government, Congress should significantly reduce the dollar amount in this section. It could do so by matching the funding contained in the December COVID relief legislation ($2 billion).
Strike language for airport concessions. This language provides an $800 million bailout for concessions and stores located in airports.
NTU’s Thinking on the Combined Reconciliation Package
As the authorizing committees in Congress work on separate reconciliation bills, NTU wishes to inform Members and their staff that we have several significant concerns with the current framework of the overall, combined reconciliation effort. This proposed legislation would add $1.9 trillion the national debt without meaningful offsets and includes several major initiatives that do not adhere to the narrow, targeted approach NTU has advocated for since the summer. Additional proposals may do active harm to the country’s economic recovery efforts in the years ahead.
If the combined reconciliation bill came to the House or Senate floor today without significant improvements, we would advise Members to vote “NO” on the legislation. The bill would be heavily weighted in NTU’s annual rating of Congress.
Contact Information
Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to Thomas Aiello and Thomas.Aiello@ntu.org