Tuesday profile: A builder mentality

Amid a push in Washington for increased budget austerity, Jeff Boothe argues that more public spending is the tonic needed to revitalize the U.S. economy.

Boothe, a partner at Holland & Knight, told The Hill that passing infrastructure legislation such as the surface transportation reauthorization bill is vital for the nation’s transit future. 

{mosads}“[The infrastructure bills] are not sexy. They are not going to get a member a vote … They are not going to garner headlines until something tragic happens,” Boothe said. 

“Maintaining systems do not go away. Maintaining roads do not go away. You have to invest in them,” he said.

At Holland & Knight, Boothe mostly works with local transit authorities. Along with shaping policy in authorization bills, he is working to secure earmarks and federal grants for more buses, railcars and roads in cities such as Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Texas; and Charlotte, N.C. 

In addition to his work with cities and high-speed rail clients, Boothe heads up two major transit coalitions: the New Starts Working Group, which advocates for mass transit funding, and the Community Streetcar Coalition, which makes the case for streetcar systems in major cities.

Boothe says the goal of his lobbying work is to keep America competitive in the global marketplace. He notes that other countries, including China, spare no expense in building and maintaining their infrastructure of roads and rail. 

“For the United States, we need to understand that this is about competing in a global economy,” Boothe said. “If we don’t make that investment, we will find it will slow our economic growth.”

The pending highway bill, which has been stalled in Congress for more than a year, is the sixth major legislative push on roads that Boothe has been involved with in some capacity. Before he became a lobbyist, Boothe helped draft the 1982 highway bill as a Capitol Hill aide.

Boothe, a Portland, Ore., native, first came to Washington in the summer of 1975 as an intern for then-Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.). Boothe said he lucked out with the internship since he was assigned “actually meaningful work,” writing an item for the Congressional Record and helping with constituent services. 

The Stanford University political science major soon found himself in Washington permanently. On the day he was scheduled to start working retail in 1977, Hatfield’s office called him with a job offer.

“I called [Nordstrom] the same day I was supposed to start my job and said, ‘Sorry, I’m going to Washington, D.C.,’ ” Boothe said.

His first job for Hatfield was working for the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee. Boothe did field work for the panel, traveling throughout Alaska to investigate the implementation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Later, Boothe worked for Hatfield on the Senate Appropriations Committee and earned his law degree taking night classes at George Mason University. 

A chairman of the powerful committee, Hatfield was a Republican who went his own way on many issues. Not only he did vote against authorizing the first Iraq war and the balanced-budget amendment in the 1990s, Hatfield consistently pushed for more government spending on roads and bridges during his 30 years in the Senate. 

“He knew where he stood and he held to those principles even at times when it was uncomfortable,” Boothe said. “He didn’t let himself be swayed by the ideology of the moment.” 

In 1987, after 10 years on Hatfield’s staff, Boothe left Capitol Hill to join a private law firm.

Though a Republican, Boothe considers himself more of “a policy wonk” than a partisan warrior.

“I work with both sides, and it is important to be effective to be able to work with both sides [on transportation],” Boothe said. “Historically, they have been bipartisan issues.” 

Nonetheless, the biggest challenge to the next highway bill is the anti-spending sentiment that is sweeping the country. He said the fiscal climate has already forced him to chase federal grants more than earmarks for his clients. 

Boothe sees the potential for a big shakeup in the world of transportation policy after the midterm elections. The membership of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which holds the power of the purse over transportation and other sectors, could look vastly different in the 112th Congress. 

Boothe says a seat on Appropriations might not be the prize it once was for newly elected lawmakers, who might now fear being associated with Washington spending.

“A lot of those new members [after the election] may have to be convinced to join the committee,” Boothe said.