2019: Schweikert Voted Against The FY 2020 Minibus Appropriations Bill, Which Provided $49.3 Billion In Funding For The Federal Highway Administration. In December 2019, Schweikert voted against the FY 2020 minibus spending bill, which represented 8 of the 12 appropriations bills. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The measure provides $49.3 billion in spending authority for programs and activities of the Federal Highway Administration ($13 million more than FY 2019 and $2.1 billion, or 4%, more than requested) and it increases funding for both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA. NHTSA would receive $989 million (2% more than FY 2019 and 6% more than requested) and FMCSA would receive $679 million (2% more FY 2019 funding and slightly more than the request." The vote was a motion to concur in the Senate amendment. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 297-120. The Senate later passed the bill and the President signed the bill into law. [House Vote 689, 12/17/19; Congressional Quarterly, 12/17/19; Congressional Actions, H.R.1865]
2018: Schweikert Voted Against The $1.3 Trillion FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Deal Which Raised Spending By $138 Billion Over FY 2017 Levels, Including $2.5 Billion In New Federal Highway Grants. In March 2018, Schweikert voted against the FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Combined, the spending measures would provide about $1.3 trillion in discretionary spending, with $1.2 trillion subject to discretionary spending caps, and $78.1 billion designated as Overseas Contingency Operations funds. The measure's spending levels are consistent with the increased defense and non-defense budget caps set by the two-year budget deal agreed to last month. That agreement increased the FY 2018 defense cap by $80 billion and the non-defense cap by $63 billion. Given that the previous caps were set to reduce overall discretionary spending by $5 billion, the net increase provided by the omnibus is $138 billion over the FY 2017 level." The vote was on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the bill, by a vote of 256 to 167. The Senate later agreed to the legislation, sending it to the president, who signed it into law. [House Vote 127, 3/22/18; Congressional Quarterly, 3/22/18; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1625]
Legislation Included $2.5 Billion In New Federal Highway Money, Including A $1 Billion Increase In TIGER Grants. According to the Democrats on the House Appropriations committee, "The Omnibus includes $2.525 billion in new funding for highway formula grants; $1 billion increase for the National Infrastructure Investment (TIGER) grants program; $232 million increase for subway, light rail, and commuter rail transit systems; and a $446.6 million increase for Amtrak. It includes a $305 million increase for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). It includes a $789 million increase for Army Corps of Engineers water resources projects, including funding for new starts. It also includes a $1.8 billion increase for rural water and wastewater treatment; and a $2.1 billion increase for rural broadband." [House Appropriations Committee Democrats, Accessed 4/4/18]
Bill Did Not Explicitly Fund The Gateway Program, Which Is A New Rail Tunnel Between Manhattan And New Jersey, But The Bill Did Not Prohibit The Project From Getting Money Via Other Accounts. According to the Washington Post, "Numerous transportation programs get funding increases in the bill, but the debate leading up to its release focused on one megaproject: The Gateway program, aimed at improving rail access to and from Manhattan on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. Trump made it a signature fight, largely to punish Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democratic backers of the project who have held up other Trump initiatives, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told Congress this month that the project simply wasn't ready for prime time. The project is not mentioned in the bill, and Republican aides say that they turned back efforts to essentially earmark federal funding for the project. But Democrats say that the project is still eligible for as much as $541 million in funding this fiscal year through accounts that Chao does not control. The project might also still qualify for other pools of money, though it will have to compete with other projects on an equal playing field." [Washington Post, 3/22/18]
2018: Schweikert Voted Against A February 2018 Two-Year Budget Deal Which, Among Other Things, Increased Spending By $300 Billion, Suspended The Debt Ceiling, Reauthorized Community Health Centers For Two Years And Provided $20 Billion In Infrastructure Funding. In February 2018, Schweikert voted against a two-year budget deal that re-opened the government after a brief shutdown. According to the New York Times, "With Mr. Trump's signature, the government will reopen before many Americans were aware it had closed, with a deal that includes about $300 billion in additional funds over two years for military and nonmilitary programs, almost $90 billion in disaster relief in response to last year's hurricanes and wildfires, and a higher statutory debt ceiling." In addition, according to Congressional Quarterly, the legislation "would provide funding for federal government operations and services at current levels through March 23, 2018 [...] [and] retroactively extends numerous tax breaks that expired at the end of 2016. It also extends the CHIP program for another four years (through FY 2027) and funds community health centers for another two years." The vote was on a motion to concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the bill. The House agreed to the motion, essentially on passage, by a vote of 240 to 186. The bill was then sent to the president, who signed it into law. [House Vote 69, 2/9/18; New York Times, 2/8/18; Congressional Quarterly, 2/9/18; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1892]
2017: Schweikert Voted Against The FY 2018 Congressional Progressive Caucus's Budget Resolution, Which Among Other Things, Increased Taxes On The Rich And Corporations And Called For Increasing Investment In Infrastructure By $2 Trillion Over Ten Years. In October 2017, Schweikert voted against an FY 2018 CPC budget resolution. According to Congressional Quarterly, the resolution would "provide for $3.8 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2018, not including off-budget accounts. It would raise overall spending by $3.5 trillion over 10 years and would increase revenues by $8.2 trillion over the same period through policies that would increase taxes for corporations and high-income individuals. It would repeal the Budget Control Act sequester and caps on discretionary spending, would modify the tax code by adding five higher marginal tax rates, would create a public insurance option to be sold within the current health insurance exchanges and would call for implementation of comprehensive immigration overhaul." In additional, also according to Congressional Quarterly, "The Progressive Caucus' budget plan calls for $562 billion in defense discretionary spending and $630 billion in nondefense discretionary spending during this fiscal year. It would also propose $2 trillion in infrastructure spending over 10 years --- financed in part by a $10.25 per barrel tax on oil --- a 3.5 percent increase for nondefense spending by 2022, and funding for universal pre-kindergarten." The amendment was a substitute amendment for the GOP's FY 2018 budget resolution in part designed to start the process for tax reform. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 108 to 314. [House Vote 553, 10/4/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/4/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/3/17; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 453; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 71]
2015: Schweikert Voted For A Three Month Extension For Surface Transportation And For Funding Veterans Health Care. In July 2015, Schweikert voted for extending Surface Transportation funding for three months and for additional money for veterans health care. According to Congressional Quarterly, "the bill [...] would extend the authorization for federal-aid highway and transit programs through Oct. 29, 2015. Authority to spend money from the Highway Trust Fund would also be extended through that date. The bill would transfer $8.1 billion from the Treasury to replenish the Highway Trust Fund and cover projected shortfalls so that construction projects could continue to be fully funded during that time (the amount transferred would cover projected trust fund shortfalls through the end of the year). The measure also would allow the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) to use $3.4 billion from the Veterans Choice Fund to pay for care provided - from May 1 to Oct. 1, 2015 - to veteran patients by non-VA providers under VA Care in the Community programs. It also would exempt veterans who already receive health insurance through the VA or reservists covered under Tricare from being counted toward the number of employees that triggers the employer mandate under the 2010 health care overhaul." The vote was on passage of the bill. The House passed the bill by a vote of 385 to 34. The Senate later passed the bill and it was later signed by the President on 7/31/15. [House Vote 486, 7/29/15; Congressional Quarterly, 7/30/15; Congressional Quarterly, Accessed 8/25/15; Congressional Actions, H.R. 3236]
Highway Trust Fund Extended Until October 29, 2015; 34th Short-Term Patch Since 2009. According to the Huffington Post, "The bill, which passed 91 to 4, provides an extension to the Highway Trust Fund until Oct. 29. It is the 34th short-term patch passed by Congress since 2009. Short patches to the fund make it harder for states to plan ahead on major transportation projects, and prolong maintenance to damaged roads and bridges." [Huffington Post, 7/30/15]
Bill Also Provided $8 Billion To "Shore Up The Federal Highway Trust Fund" And Fix A "$3.4 Billion Hole In The Department Of Veterans Affairs' Budget." According to the Associated Press via Fox News, "The bill also provides $8 billion to shore up the federal Highway Trust Fund through mid-December. The fund's balance was forecast to drop below a $4 billion cushion necessary to prevent disruptions in payments to states in early August. The extension bill also fills a $3.4 billion hole in the Department of Veterans Affairs' budget. The money gap threatened to force the closure of hospitals and clinics nationwide." [Fox News, 7/30/15]
Last Highway Bill Was Set To Expire On July 31, Was Only For Two Months. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Republican leaders are eager to pass a long-term highway bill to prove they can govern now that they control both chambers. So far, however, they have delivered only two short-term patches. The last one had extended the program for two months through July 31." [Wall Street Journal, 7/30/15]
Wall Street Journal: Since 2008, Congress Has Transferred $65 Billion To The Highway Trust Fund; Primary Source Of The Trust Fund's Revenue Is A Gasoline Tax That Has Not Increased In Over Twenty Years. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Since 2008, Congress has transferred $65 billion into the trust fund, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The federal gasoline tax that is the primary source of money for the program hasn't been increased in more than two decades." [Wall Street Journal, 7/30/15]
American Society Of Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card For America's Infrastructure: One In Nine Bridges "Structurally Deficient" And 42 Percent Of America's Major Urban Highways Remain Congested, Causing Economic Loss. According to the American Society Of Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card For America's Infrastructure, "Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation's 102 largest metropolitan regions. In total, one in nine of the nation's bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation's 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years. [...] However, forty-two percent of America's major urban highways remain congested, costing the economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel annually." [American Society of Civil Engineers, Accessed 8/25/15]
Maryland Delegate Sally Jameson And Alabama State Senator Cam Ward, Co-Chairs Of The Natural Resources And Infrastructure Committee, National Conference Of State Legislatures: Short Term Extensions Cause States To Defer Projects. According to Delegate Sally Jameson (Maryland House Of Delegates) and Senator Cam Ward (Alabama Senate), Co-Chairs of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee, National Conference of State Legislatures "The uncertainty that pervades short-term extensions makes it extremely challenging for states to adequately plan and achieve their performance targets especially because many transportation infrastructure projects require a multi-year commitment. This uncertainty has already caused some states to defer projects. These delays have a harmful impact on a state's economy. It is difficult to overstate the negative state impacts this uncertainty creates." [National Conference of State Legislatures, 6/17/15]
2015: Schweikert Voted Against A Motion That Would Reauthorize Federal Highway And Transit Funds For Six Months And Fund The Highway Trust Fund. In July 2015, Schweikert voted against a bill to reauthorize federal highway and transit funds for six months and transfer $8.1 billion to the Highway Trust Fund. According to Congressional Quarterly, the motion was to, "reauthorize federal-aid highway and transit programs through Dec. 18, 2015 and would transfer $8.1 billion in funding from the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund to cover projected trust fund shortfalls over that time. The measure completely offsets the cost of the proposed funding transfer by extending for two years the current budgetary treatment of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fees as mandatory savings and through several tax compliance provisions." The vote was on passage and the House passed the bill 312 to 119. The underlying bill was read twice in the Senate and placed on the legislative calendar. No further action has been taken. The Congress later in July passed, and the President signed, a three month highway extension. [House Vote 441, 7/15/15; Congressional Quarterly, 7/15/15; Congressional Actions, H.R. 3236; Congressional Actions, H.R. 3038]
Legislation Provided A Short-Term Funding Fix For Highway Projects. According to USA Today, "The U.S. House approved a short-term, $8 billion transportation bill to keep money flowing to states for highway and infrastructure projects before funding dries up at the end of the month. The five-month patch through Dec. 18 passed 312-119. Many Democrats opposed the GOP bill in part because they want a long-term measure and also because it did not include any language to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which has become an issue in the highway bill debate. [...] House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa, said the House bill is necessary to buy more time to work on a longer measure. 'I believe we can get there, but we can't get there in the next three weeks,' he said. Congress is scheduled to adjourn for the annual August recess." [USA Today, 7/15/15]
Bill Provided Funding By Taxing Corporate Profits Held Overseas. According to Reuters, "Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday unveiled an $8.1 billion plan to fund highway and rail transit projects through the end of 2015, paid for by extending an airport security fee increase and various tax rule changes. Congress faces a July 31 deadline to renew federal transportation spending authority and avoid a major slowdown in road construction projects nationwide. The five-month funding extension bill, which also will replenish the dwindling Highway Trust Fund for five months, was introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster. Both Republicans and Democrats have said they would prefer a longer, six-year transportation bill, but lawmakers have not been able to agree on funding the nearly half-billion dollar cost. The short-term extension is aimed at buying time for lawmakers to negotiate a longer-term bill, funded largely by capturing tax revenues from the repatriation of some $2 trillion in U.S. corporate profits held overseas." [Reuters, 7/13/15]
Bill Provided Funding By Extending Higher Fees On Airline Tickets. According to Reuters, "The House plan would fund the $8.1 billion patch by extending higher Transportation Security Administration fees by two more years, until 2026, this would produce new revenues of $3.2 billion over 10 years. In a 2013 budget deal, the minimum fees, levied on airline tickets, were more than doubled to $5.60 for each one-way trip." [Reuters, 7/13/15]
Statement Of Administration Policy: Bill Provided Necessary Transportation Funding Until A Long Term Funding Bill Could Be Passed. According to the Statement of Administration Policy, "With surface transportation authorization expiring at the end of July, the unfortunate reality is that, due to inaction, Congress will need to pass a short-term extension of these authorities to keep Federal funding for the Nation's surface transportation system flowing. While the country cannot continue to rely on short-term patches as an approach to funding the Nation's infrastructure, the Administration supports passage of H.R. 3038 to give the House and Senate the necessary time to complete work on a long-term bill this year that increases investment to meet the Nation's infrastructure needs." [Statement of Administration Policy, 7/15/15]
American Society Of Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card For America's Infrastructure: One In Nine "Structurally Deficient" And 42 Percent Of America's Major Urban Highways Remain Congested, Causing Economic Loss. According to the American Society Of Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card For America's Infrastructure, "Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation's 102 largest metropolitan regions. In total, one in nine of the nation's bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation's 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years. [...] However, forty-two percent of America's major urban highways remain congested, costing the economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel annually." [American Society of Civil Engineers, Accessed 8/25/15]
Maryland Delegate Sally Jameson And Alabama State Senator Cam Ward, Co-Chairs Of The Natural Resources And Infrastructure Committee, National Conference Of State Legislatures: Short Term Extensions Cause States To Defer Projects. According to Delegate Sally Jameson (Maryland House Of Delegates) and Senator Cam Ward (Alabama Senate), Co-Chairs of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee, National Conference of State Legislatures "The uncertainty that pervades short-term extensions makes it extremely challenging for states to adequately plan and achieve their performance targets especially because many transportation infrastructure projects require a multi-year commitment. This uncertainty has already caused some states to defer projects. These delays have a harmful impact on a state's economy. It is difficult to overstate the negative state impacts this uncertainty creates." [National Conference of State Legislatures, 6/17/15]
Wall Street Journal: Since 2008, Congress Has Transferred $65 Billion To The Highway Trust Fund; Primary Source Of The Trust Fund's Revenue Is A Gasoline Tax That Has Not Increased In Over Twenty Years. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Since 2008, Congress has transferred $65 billion into the trust fund, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The federal gasoline tax that is the primary source of money for the program hasn't been increased in more than two decades." [Wall Street Journal, 8/30/15]
2014: Schweikert Voted Against Extending Federal Highway Funding Through May 31, 2015. In July 2014, Schweikert voted against legislation that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "reauthorize[d] the federal-aid highway and transit programs for eight months, through May 31, 2015, and transfer $10.8 billion in other federal funds to the Highway Trust Fund to cover projected trust fund shortfalls. The bill include[d] provisions that would effectively offset the cost of the transfer from the general fund of the Treasury, through an extension of customs fees and 'pension smoothing' provisions. It would [have] authorize[d] $26.8 billion in highway and highway safety obligations; $293 million in contract authority for administrative expenses of the federal-aid highway program; $454 million for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration programs and $415 million for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and $5.7 billion for mass transit formula grants, $1.3 billion for capital investment grants and $44 million for bus and bus facilities grants." The vote was on passage. The House passed the legislation by a vote of 367 to 55. A related version later became law. [House Vote 414, 7/15/14; Congressional Quarterly, 7/15/14; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5021]