Homeland Security gets short-term fix, transportation debate continues

The federal Department of Homeland Security came within hours of shutting down last Friday, with Congress passing a one-week funding extension on the day that the department was to run out of funding.

In December, Congress had passed a spending resolution to fund every federal department except Homeland Security through September 2015. The Department of Homeland Security is charged with implementing President Barack Obama’s controversial immigration policy, and congressional leaders wanted to re-examine the department’s spending during the new session that began in January. Due to continuing disagreement, however, Congress must once again take up the department’s funding in early March.

In addition to immigration, the Department of Homeland Security is charged with combatting terrorism, and a shutdown could put cities and towns at risk.

As the spotlight remained on Homeland Security funding throughout the month of February and into March, discussion of federal transportation policy and spending continued in Washington. Federal transportation funding will expire at the end of May, and there is disagreement over how to fund it going forward. In Massachusetts, this funding supports numerous highway and bridge projects.

The main proposed revenue solution is repatriation, or creating a temporary reduced corporate tax rate for international corporations who choose to bring foreign profits back into the United States. This is intended to increase tax revenue in the near-term and spur increased investment in the U.S. economy. Many in Congress contend, however, that it is not a long-term solution, and others do not want to make a significant tax policy change absent a comprehensive tax policy reform effort.

Federal transportation infrastructure is currently funded through an 18.4 cent gas tax deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. The federal government spends approximately $50 billion on transportation infrastructure each year, but the gas tax brings in only $34 billion. While there is broad agreement that new or additional sources of revenue must be found to support transportation infrastructure, there is little agreement on a path forward.