Highway Trust Fund Shortfall

We look at what happened in the Senate on Tuesday when the six-year DRIVE Act, relying on a variety of non-user fee revenue mechanisms to finance the Highway Trust Fund shortfall for three years, failed a procedural vote, and where it goes next.

July 23, 2015 - The Washington Post

A new report by the Eno Center for Transportation looks at the landmark five cent gas tax increase of 1982, more than doubling the existing tax, and explores its relevance to today's federal transportation funding crisis.

June 11, 2015 - Eno Center for Transportation

The "Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act" does not appear sustainable to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), citing gas prices of $3.20 per gallon in his district in Bakersfield. A year ago, the average price in California was $4.26.

April 30, 2015 - The Hill

The Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act is taken seriously in Congress. With 17 bipartisan co-sponsors, it would index the gas tax to inflation, thus increasing the Highway Trust Fund revenue and bridging to a sustainable revenue source.

April 21, 2015 - The Hill

A few days before President Obama announced his 14 percent offshore corporate profits tax, Sens. Rand Paul and Barbara Boxer teamed-up to announce they would be offering a repatriation tax, somewhat similar to Obama's tax. Both fund infrastructure.

February 3, 2015 - The Bond Buyer

Look no further than House Speaker John Boehner. MSNBC contributor Steve Benen reports on a Jan. 8 Capitol Hill press conference where the Republican speaker from Ohio appeared to put the kibosh on even considering a federal gas tax increase.

January 12, 2015 - MSNBC/Maddow Blog

A huge challenge for the next Congress will be finding the funds to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent when the current patch expires on May 31.

November 14, 2014 - The Washington Post

Maryland and Wisconsin will not ask voters to raise taxes for transportation, but will ask them to adopt constitutional restrictions to ensure gas tax funds are not diverted for other purposes. Louisiana hopes to create an infrastructure bank.

November 1, 2014 - Governing

On a Sunday talk show, Speaker John Boehner called a long-term highway bill "in the realm of doable," though he didn't give a time frame other than "in the last two years" of President Obama's term. The current short term funding expires May 31.

September 30, 2014 - The Hill

A survey by HNTB Corp. found that 79 percent of respondents would support tolling currently untolled roads, including highways, if the revenue was used to improve traveling conditions on the tolled road.

September 18, 2014 - The Hill

After the House rejected the Senate's amendments to their Highway Trust Fund extension bill, the Senate passed the bill 81-13 on July 31. Payments to states will continue unchanged through May 2015 when the next hurdle awaits

August 1, 2014 - The Hill

A $10.7 billion funding plan to continue federal transportation spending at the current rate through May 2015 has been offered by Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee. The General Funds transfer would be offset by "pension smoothing."

July 10, 2014 - Bloomberg News

A $9 billion patch bill was drafted by Sen. Finance Comm. Chair Ron Wyden to continue transportation spending to Dec. 31. Most of the funds come from a change in how Individual Retirement Accounts are administered and a heavy truck use tax increase.

June 26, 2014 - Roll Call

A surprising and unexpected bipartisan plan to increase gas and diesel taxes by 12 cents each emerged June 18 from Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Taxes would increase six cents a gallon annually for two years.

June 19, 2014 - The Hill

A new transportation funding option proposed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) would repeal the 18.4-cent gas tax, unchanged since 1993, with a "small" tax levied against oil companies on each barrel of oil used to make gasoline.

June 16, 2014 - The Oregonian

With federal highway funds likely to be cut off in August unless Congress can reach an agreement on a stopgap solution, some states, e.g., MO, VT, GA, AR have taken matters into their own hands to ensure that vital construction projects continue.

June 13, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

The Washington Post editorializes against the use of general funds to fill the Highway Trust Fund shortfall ($18 billion annually), whether they be dedicated funds or offsets, and evaluates proposals from President Barack Obama and House Republicans.

June 6, 2014 - The Washington Post - Opinions

"What program would you cut to continue the same level of transportation spending without raising the gas tax, e.g. cancer treatment programs, Head Start?," asks Streetsblog USA's Tanya Snyder after reading Sen. Bob Corker's (R-Tenn.) recommendation.

May 29, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Receiving a resounding vote of confidence from the Environment and Public Works Committee, the $265 billion, six-year MAP-21 reauthorization bill advanced on its path to keep federal transportation payments going to states through the summer.

May 19, 2014 - The Hill

The bill to reauthorize the current surface transportation law, "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century", a.k.a. MAP-21, was released on Monday and will be "marked up" on Thursday. Spending is kept at current levels of $50 billion a year.

May 13, 2014 - Bloomberg News