TCC Fly-In topics include ideas to solve Highway Trust Fund gaps
NAPA members joined their Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) colleagues in Washington, D.C. Tuesday for the first day of the coalition’s annual fly-in.
NAPA Vice President for Government Affairs Nile Elam led a member briefing as part of the 2025 TCC Fly-In, offering an overview of how the priorities of the asphalt pavement industry reach the federal government through engagement with the administration, agencies, and Congress.
Elam pointed to NAPA participation at last week’s Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit hearing as evidence that the discussion on the next surface transportation reauthorization has already begun. Ty Johnson, president of Fred Smith, a Construction Partners Inc. company, testified on April 29 about the need to solve funding gaps in the Highway Trust Fund.
“Fortunately, it looks like this Congress is really starting to take a hard look at what the Highway Trust Fund is doing now and more importantly what we can do to hopefully bolster some of those funds,” Elam said. “We can’t be dependent on the gas tax because its buying power 20 to 30 years ago is a fraction of what it is now. If we live on general fund transfers for the next 20 years, we’ll accept it, but we also know, politically speaking, that’s going to be a very tough pill to swallow.”
Elam noted that leadership in the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee has been exploring multiple approaches to aid the dwindling HTF, including a gross vehicle weight (GVR) registration fee supported by the American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA).
Elam said the hearing was one of the last expected public inputs before lawmakers begin to draft the new highway bill. NAPA shared its priorities via the stakeholder input portal before it closed on April 30.
NAPA Vice President for Engineering, Research, and Technology Richard Willis also addressed NAPA members during the briefing, explaining how changes in how federal agencies interacts with the industry are impacting efforts led by the Federal Highway Administration (FHMW), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Following the member briefing, representatives from TCC’s dozens of member organizations gathered for a legislative briefing featuring updates from the ranking members of the T&I Committee, as well as Senate Committee on Environment & Chairman Shelley Moore-Capito
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington), the top Democrat on T&I, spoke about the bipartisan work ethic that is shared among committee members. Larsen suggested that while other committees were more accommodating to lawmakers looking to make national headlines, the T&I Committee is for representatives that want to make news in their home district.
Larsen and his Republican counterpart, Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri), both spoke from the TCC stage about their respect for one another and their fruitful working relationship.
Graves highlighted the items the committee managed to include in the recent budget reconciliation process, which wrapped up April 30.
Per the instructions from leadership the Committee was required to come up with $10 billion in savings as a pay-for for the extension of expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Those provisions include the estate tax, Section 199A, Bonus Depreciation and corporate tax cut extension.
To achieve these savings, the Committee made recissions to previously authorized programs within IRA. These cuts included $4 billion to Low Carbon Materials programs, Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants and the FAA’s Alternative Fuel and Low-Emissions Aviation Technology Program.
The Committee also added an additional revenue generator, implementing a registration-based fee on all EV and Hybrid vehicles, respectively. The new registration fees will be $250 for EVs and $100 for hybrids and add an estimated $38 billion to the highway trust fund over 10 years.
Although this language passed the Committee, there is concern that these funds may not ultimately make it into the highway trust fund because of the Byrd Rule in the Senate. The Byrd Rule only allows for tax and budget legislation within the budget reconciliation process meaning anything deemed “policy” by the Senate Parliamentarian will be prohibited within the reconciliation process. This is an important rule to keep in mind as the process evolves, without the reconciliation process, Senate Democrats could move to filibuster a Republican led Bill.
“We appreciate Chairman Graves attention and leadership on the Highway Trust Fund,” said NAPA Government Affairs Director Mitch Baldwin. “Juggling competing priorities while coming up with $10 billion in savings is not a simple task; but this bill does that, and puts the Committee in a better place for the upcoming highway reauthorization.”
Another priority for the Committee during this exercise was to include monies for air traffic control modernization as well as additional funding for the Coast Guard to increase border security efforts. The Committee approves $12.5 billion in spending for a down payment on retrofitting the air traffic control systems and network. Since the plane crash that took the lives of over 60 people at Reagan National Airport, this has been a priority for President Trump and T&I Committee leadership. The Committee also provided an additional $21 billion for the Coast Guard to increase border security and combat drug trafficking.
Interested in hosting a member of Congress at your asphalt plant or job site?
NAPA’s Government Affairs team can help!
NAPA has the resources to support your efforts to build strong relationships with your elected officials while also creating policy champions that will help safeguard the longevity of the asphalt pavement industry. Email Vice President for Government Affairs Nile Elam or Government Affairs Director Mitch Baldwin to learn more.
Meet the GA Team: NAPA brings in new faces for a ‘new’ Congress
