Event Recap: Federal Infrastructure Discussion with Chairman Doug McGarrah and Jim Aloisi
April 16, 2020
THURSDAY, APRIL 9th, 2020 | ZOOM MEETING WITH DOUG MCGARRAH & JIM ALOISI
Rick Dimino started the meeting by welcoming members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Advisory Committee, Executive Committee, and other members of A Better City community to an update of state government activities, review of recent federal activities relative to the COVID-19 crisis, a discussion of federal infrastructure and potential federal funding opportunities. Program speakers included Tom Ryan, Senior Advisor on Policy, Government, and Community Affairs; Doug McGarrah, Chair of A Better City; and Jim Aloisi, former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation.
Tom Ryan described actions taken by the state legislature to eliminate the waiting period for unemployment benefits and non-financial municipal relief such as delaying election dates and property tax collection. Governor Baker has issued 48 Executive Orders extending state permits, prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people, and defining and closing non-essential businesses. Several bills were close to final approval on MCAS educational waivers and housing security. House Speaker DeLeo said that the July 31 end of the legislative session could be extended if the state budget, climate change bill, and transportation financing have not been acted upon.
On the federal level, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act has been signed that includes $25 billion for transit agencies including over $750 million for the MBTA. A Better City advocated for this funding, which will include support for operations. The CARES Act also includes direct payment to individuals, aid to state governments, and small business loans. Speaker Pelosi had advocated for a federal infrastructure stimulus bill as the next step, but it now looks like a CARES Act II will need to expand support for individuals and small businesses as the shutdown of the economy appears to be lengthening. In January, the House had proposed a $760 billion infrastructure plan over five years, but that could be expanded if another stimulus bill follows a second CARES Act.
Doug McGarrah described a “North Atlantic Rail” concept being advanced by former Regional Planning Association head Bob Yaro, Kip Bergstrom, and others, which is a $105 billion program for an inland high-speed rail route between New York and Boston with local rail connections to other cities along the way. The concept can incorporate projects such as the East/West Rail idea and improvements on the Worcester commuter rail line—and each state could propose its own priority projects. Doug McGarrah and Rick Dimino recently discussed the concept with Congressman McGovern, Chair of the House Rules Committee. Advocates are continuing to build support for the program.
Looking ahead to a possible federal infrastructure program, former Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi began by looking back to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 stimulus program that famously called for states to identify “shovel ready” projects in order to quickly jumpstart the economy. Most shovel ready projects are highway projects, and many were repaving existing roads, rather than transit projects. Jim Aloisi reviewed the 28x bus improvement project that suffered from lack of time to lay the groundwork and was not implemented. In Massachusetts, however, 20% of the ARRA stimulus funds were spent on transit, which was the third-highest proportion in the country. One size does not fit all across the 50 states, and that flexibility is important for new stimulus legislation. Moreover, projects that increase capacity to address social distancing imperatives could be high on the list of projects.
The meeting included a fulsome discussion regarding future state and federal investments, during which meeting participants offered constrictive input on the following: critical role of the Federal Reserve; critical role of engineering firms; need for bus maintenance facilities; importance of investing in telecommunications networks; importance of investing in the electricity grid to support transit system electrification; and more.
To conclude the meeting, Doug McGarrah suggested that A Better City should look toward a post-COVID environment and what can happen over the next 12 to 18 months. Additionally, Rick Dimino thanked all for their participation in the session and said that the A Better City team would be drafting a paper on the form and content of an infrastructure stimulus program.
