Not so long ago, when Democrats and Republicans more easily found areas of accord, transportation funding received ready support from both parties.
After all, highway and bridge construction can improve infrastructure, add local jobs and provide elected representatives with concrete examples of their ability to secure federal funds for the home district. Such spending is typically backed by unions and business.
Yet in the current climate, with many conservatives calling for smaller government, bipartisan support for the bill has dissipated.
Although the Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion measure in March, House Republicans haven’t embraced the Senate version. In the meantime, as party leaders wrangle, federal funding for transportation projects is set to expire on June 30.
The good news may be that you won’t spend as much time in construction-related traffic jams this summer. The bad news is that you may blow a tire or two next winter when you drive through potholes.
For the many powerful groups and industries that lobby for transportation funding, a prolonged impasse is only bad news.
First Street data shows that nearly 700 organizations lobbied the Senate transportation bill this year.
The list of top lobby clients is headed by the group that spends more than any other in Washington – the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which sent a letter Monday to members of the conference committee considering the measure, urging passage.
The table below shows groups lobbying the bill that have spent $100,000 or more this year. The expenditures include efforts aimed at the highway bill as well as other issues.
The big spenders include not only transportation-oriented interests, such as FedEx and UPS, but energy companies, manufacturers and unions.
Groups such as the Transportation Construction Coalition, which is not a registered lobby client, have waged public relations campaigns for approval. (The group is co-chaired by two major lobby groups – the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and the Associated General Contractors of America.)
The coalition launched an ad blitz last week targeting four members of the conference committee negotiating a new bill: Dave Camp (R-MI), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Southerland (R-FL) and Pat Tiberi (R-OH).
While several environmental groups have argued against the original House proposal, urging greater support for mass transit and bike lanes and exclusion of Keystone pipeline funding, the real obstacle is not environmental, but political.
Perhaps even more than Gov. Scott Walker’s recent victory in Wisconsin, the transportation bill blockade illustrates the continuing clout of the Tea Party and anti-tax crusaders such as Grover Norquist.
It’s also yet another sign of intense polarization on Capitol Hill. Republicans and Democrats can’t agree, even when the do agree, even when lobbyists and campaign contributors want them to agree.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, observed in April, “America’s one big pothole right now.”
We’re pretty sure he was describing America’s infrastructure, not its leadership.
Here’s the list of major groups lobbying on the transportation bill:
| Organization | 2012 spending |
| Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. | $20,200,000 |
| National Association of Realtors | $6,060,000 |
| General Electric Company | $5,680,000 |
| Verizon Communications Inc. and Its Subsidiaries | $4,510,000 |
| Exxon Mobil Corp | $4,357,500 |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | $4,000,000 |
| United Technologies Corporation | $3,870,000 |
| Pfizer, Inc | $3,550,000 |
| Edison Electric Institute | $3,500,000 |
| Shell Oil Company | $3,440,000 |
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | $3,240,000 |
| FedEx Corporation | $3,182,525 |
| General Motors Company | $2,842,500 |
| Business Roundtable | $2,830,000 |
| Association of American Railroads | $2,640,504 |
| Amgen Inc. | $2,630,000 |
| American Bankers Association | $2,500,000 |
| American Chemistry Council | $2,440,000 |
| Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC | $2,390,000 |
| Altria Client Services Inc. | $2,320,000 |
| Duke Energy Corporation | $2,260,000 |
| National Education Association | $2,252,514 |
| Textron Inc. | $2,170,000 |
| CBS Corporation | $2,160,000 |
| Norfolk Southern Corporation | $1,987,500 |
| AARP | $1,950,000 |
| Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers | $1,840,300 |
| Prudential Financial Inc. | $1,790,000 |
| American Petroleum Institute | $1,770,000 |
| Ford Motor Company | $1,770,000 |
| Caterpillar Inc. | $1,730,000 |
| National Assn of Manufacturers | $1,730,000 |
| BNSF Railway Company | $1,710,000 |
| Wal-Mart Stores, Inc | $1,570,000 |
| UPS | $1,476,280 |
| American Council of Life Insurers | $1,469,200 |
| Qualcomm, Incorporated | $1,330,000 |
| National Grid USA | $1,280,000 |
| Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association | $1,270,000 |
| Chrysler Group, LLC | $1,267,023 |
| New York Life Insurance Company | $1,240,000 |
| E. I. Du Pont DE Nemours & Co. | $1,229,421 |
| Anadarko Petroleum Corporation | $1,195,000 |
| The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company | $1,170,000 |
| Exelon Business Services, LLC | $1,160,000 |
| Investment Company Institute | $1,144,013 |
| Peabody Investments Corp. | $1,120,000 |
| Managed Funds Association | $1,110,000 |
| Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company | $1,108,900 |
| Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company | $1,070,000 |
| Union Pacific Corporation | $1,050,535 |
| 3M Company | $1,020,000 |
| Nissan North America, Inc. | $1,010,000 |
| Time Warner Cable Inc. | $987,000 |
| AFL-CIO | $961,625 |
| Pacific Gas and Electric Company | $920,000 |
| Toyota Motor North America, Inc. | $900,000 |
| Weyerhaeuser Company | $880,000 |
| American Association for Justice | $820,000 |
| Progress Energy Service Company, LLC | $820,000 |
| Xcel Energy, Inc | $800,000 |
| Principal Financial Group | $785,000 |
| Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association | $770,000 |
| American Forest & Paper Association | $770,000 |
| Anheuser-Busch Companies | $760,000 |
| Nuclear Energy Institute, Inc | $755,000 |
| American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc. | $750,000 |
| Canadian National Railway Company | $750,000 |
| Cummins Inc. | $747,578 |
| National Rural Electric Cooperative Association | $721,000 |
| American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees | $720,000 |
| National Retail Federation | $720,000 |
| State Farm Insurance Companies | $720,000 |
| National Automobile Dealers Association | $710,000 |
| Arcelormittal USA LLC | $700,000 |
| Baxter Healthcare Corporation | $697,500 |
| Usec, Inc | $690,000 |
| American Council of Engineering Companies | $688,037 |
| Mortgage Bankers Association | $684,000 |
| Honda North America | $650,509 |
| Hartford Financial Services Group | $650,000 |
| American Farm Bureau Fed | $640,000 |
| Centerpoint Energy, Inc. | $630,000 |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation | $630,000 |
| NFIB | $620,000 |
| American Dental Association | $610,000 |
| Cox Enterprises Inc | $610,000 |
| Mortgage Insurance Companies of America | $600,000 |
| National Electrical Manufacturers Association | $600,000 |
| ITC Holdings Corp. | $590,000 |
| American Association of Airport Executives | $570,697 |
| American Public Transportation Association | $530,000 |
| Dte Energy | $520,000 |
| Nucor Public Affairs, Inc. | $510,000 |
| American Civil Liberties Union | $507,603 |
| Chesapeake Energy Corporation | $490,000 |
| Ameren Services | $480,000 |
| Cms Energy Corp | $480,000 |
| Lorillard Tobacco Company | $480,000 |
| International Association of MacHinists and Aerospace Workers | $470,000 |
| Spectra Energy | $467,425 |
| American Nurses Association | $454,438 |
| National Propane Gas Association | $450,000 |
| National Multi Housing Council, Inc. | $443,000 |
| United Transportation Union | $440,155 |
| Association of Global Automakers, Inc. | $440,000 |
| Eaton Corporation | $440,000 |
| Deere & Company | $430,000 |
| Midamerican Energy Holdings Company | $422,832 |
| United States Steel Corporation | $420,000 |
| American Benefits Council | $413,266 |
| Ameriprise Financial, Inc. | $410,000 |
| Alliant Techsystems, Inc | $390,000 |
| Puget Sound Energy | $390,000 |
| Hilton Worldwide | $380,000 |
| Con-Way Inc | $370,000 |
| Growth Energy, Inc. | $360,000 |
| Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc | $360,000 |
| Airports Council International — North America | $343,332 |
| Friends Committee on National Legislation | $342,955 |
| El Paso Corporation | $330,000 |
| The Fertilizer Institute | $325,987 |
| The Nature Conservancy | $320,000 |
| Americans for Tax Reform | $310,000 |
| The Babcock & Wilcox Company | $310,000 |
| Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc | $310,000 |
| Bombardier Transit Corp. | $308,500 |
| Bridgestone Americas Inc. | $300,000 |
| Waterways Council, Inc. | $300,000 |
| Xerox Corporation | $300,000 |
| PPG Industries, Inc | $292,653 |
| Pepco Holdings, Inc. | $290,000 |
| Waste Management, Inc. | $290,000 |
| American Motorcyclist Association | $287,773 |
| American Federation of Teachers | $285,458 |
| Devon Energy Production Company, L.P. | $280,000 |
| Peabody Energy | $280,000 |
| Solar Energy Industries Association | $280,000 |
| Michelin North America, Inc. | $275,000 |
| Fluor Corporation | $270,526 |
| CF Industries, Inc | $270,000 |
| Whirlpool Corporation | $270,000 |
| Daimler/Mercedes-Benz USA | $260,000 |
| Yum! Brands, Inc. | $260,000 |
| Blue Green Alliance | $258,000 |
| American Iron and Steel Institute | $256,055 |
| American Bar Association | $250,000 |
| American Society of Civil Engineers | $250,000 |
| Building and Construction Trades Dept., AFL-CIO | $250,000 |
| Volvo Group North America, LLC | $250,000 |
| National Council of Farmer Cooperatives | $248,124 |
| Masco Corporation | $240,000 |
| Nisource, Inc | $240,000 |
| NAIOP | $239,437 |
| Transportation Communications International Union/Iam | $230,000 |
| University of California | $230,000 |
| University of Southern California | $230,000 |
| Healthcare Leadership Council | $220,000 |
| Portland Cement Association | $220,000 |
| The Erisa Industry Committee | $220,000 |
| Transportation Intermediaries Association | $220,000 |
| University of Illinois | $220,000 |
| Laborers’ International Union of North America | $212,248 |
| Cobank, Acb | $210,000 |
| CSX Corporation | $210,000 |
| Genesee & Wyoming Inc. | $210,000 |
| National Beer Wholesalers Association | $210,000 |
| Organization for International Investment | $210,000 |
| Enterprise Holdings, Inc. | $201,000 |
| Praxair, Inc. | $200,000 |
| International Brotherhood of Teamsters | $191,000 |
| National Wildlife Federation | $190,000 |
| Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO | $190,000 |
| UBS Americas, Inc. | $190,000 |
| Wisconsin Energy Corporation | $190,000 |
| Financial Executives International | $187,500 |
| Smart Growth America | $185,000 |
| Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association | $182,455 |
| United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy… | $180,000 |
| American Heart Association | $175,818 |
| National Treasury Employees Union | $171,309 |
| Northwestern Univ | $171,000 |
| Louisiana Energy Services | $170,000 |
| NCR Corporation | $170,000 |
| American Road & Transportation Builders Association | $165,000 |
| American Public Works Association | $160,000 |
| Areva Enrichment Services LLC | $160,000 |
| Equifax, Inc | $160,000 |
| Lafarge North America Inc. | $160,000 |
| Salt River Project | $160,000 |
| Starbucks Corporation | $160,000 |
| Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. | $155,182 |
| Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC | $152,000 |
| Honeywell International | $150,000 |
| Agricultural Retailers Association | $140,000 |
| National Corn Growers Assn | $140,000 |
| United Services Automobile Association | $136,870 |
| Clean Energy Fuels Corp | $135,000 |
| Rai Services Company | $135,000 |
| Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund | $131,397 |
| Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. | $130,000 |
| Ingersoll Rand | $130,000 |
| International Union of Operating Engineers | $130,000 |
| Travelport Operations, Inc. | $130,000 |
| Rubber Manufacturers Association | $127,000 |
| Owens-Illinois, Inc | $125,000 |
| Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety | $121,729 |
| Continental Tire / Automotive North America | $120,000 |
| Covanta Energy Corporation | $120,000 |
| Electric Drive Transportation Association | $120,000 |
| National Utility Contractors Association | $120,000 |
| The Timken Company | $119,650 |
| AK Steel Holding Corporation | $117,015 |
| American Gas Association | $110,000 |
| Greyhound Lines, Inc. | $110,000 |
| Institute of Makers of Explosives | $110,000 |
| International Union of Painters and Allied Trades | $110,000 |
| Kansas Farm Bureau | $110,000 |
| The Trustees of Purdue University | $110,000 |
| University of Connecticut | $110,000 |
| Manufactured Housing Institute | $107,438 |
| National Parks Conservation Association | $103,505 |
| National Right to Life Committee | $101,698 |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | $100,200 |
| Illinois Agricultural Association | $100,000 |
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