When Close Isn’t Good Enough

There’s a saying that “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” A recent announcement from state and local-level politicians forming a coalition to advise the Federal government on infrastructure issues has the right goal. Time will tell if they’re acting out of genuine concern or self-interest.

Granted, these are state-level politicians with national name recognition. Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on January 24th that they have established the Building America’s Future Coalition.

This non-partisan group will be co-chaired by the three politicians, and is intended to be a think tank for Federal infrastructure investment. The group intends to offer positions on infrastructure issues, including Federal, state and local legislative proposals.

According to a press announcement, the coalition will be made up of state and locally elected officials. It will also work closely with associations that represent these officials, including the National Governors Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Association of County Officials, the National Conference of State Legislators, and the Council of State Governments.

The goal of better Federal infrastructure maintenance is important and commendable. Certainly, the nation’s infrastructure is in serious disrepair. Yet, formation of the coalition by this particular group of leaders begs the question, “Why?”

In a February 1st letter to the New York Times, the coalition’s founders noted, “While states and cities have significantly increased infrastructure spending in recent years, Federal spending has been flat. Three out of every four infrastructure dollars now come from states and cities.” Separately, Mayor Bloomberg has called for a stimulus bill to promote infrastructure investment.

It would be cynical to assume that the Building America’s Future Coalition was looking only to ease the state and local financial responsibility for infrastructure maintenance. Certainly, there is a common understanding of our great need for a substantial investment in the rehabilitation of our infrastructure around the country. The issue has been the subject of considerable Congressional dialog, former presidential candidate, Governor Mike Huckabee, stressed that rebuilding infrastructure is critical to America’s future, and the issue is on the to-do lists of the Federal Executive and Legislative branches.

On the other hand, it’s fair to ask whether a group of governors can meaningfully influence Federal legislation – or whether such legislation contains sufficient punitive consequences to prompt action. The Bush administration has already included the five-year pilot project for rightsizing Federal real property inventory in its FY 2009 budget, and Executive Order 13327 has just recently celebrated its fourth anniversary. And yet, Federal real property remains on the GAO’s high risk list. In terms of protecting the Federal infrastructure, it’s important not to lose sight of the equally dramatic story of a right-sized real property inventory.

With a declining economy, Federal spending to improve the infrastructure can stimulate employment and spur voter confidence. But more investment from the Federal government is not likely to happen for the simple reason that budget dollars do not exist for this initiative unless it is at the expense of other programs – or taken from proceeds related to disposal of surplus property. Until then, the responsibility for maintaining the nation’s infrastructure must be shouldered by all governmental stakeholders – Federal, state and local.

Creating a coalition to persuade the Federal government to contribute more to the issue is close to the right answer – close, but not good enough.


David Baxa
President and CEO
VISTA