This week, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), along with 46 other organizations, trade groups and businesses, collectively asked the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a long-term sustainable revenue source for our nation’s transportation network and not to continue kicking the can down the road on a transportation bill that the nation critically needs.
The federal motor fuel tax that funds transportation has been fixed at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. With the effects of inflation and the increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles, gas taxes are no longer sufficient to maintain our current transportation assets, much less fund expansion. The federal Highway Trust Fund, which also funds mass transit, has required $50 billion in general fund bailouts over the past five years. In August, Congress enacted another $11 billion emergency infusion to the Trust Fund, which is supposed to keep it solvent through May, right before construction season begins.
On Monday, Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), a senior member of the House Transportation Committee, signed onto a bill from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) that would boost the gas tax by 15 cents per gallon over three years and index it to inflation. That same day Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) a strong supporter of a gas tax increase and sponsor of a bill with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) that would raise the tax by 12 cents over two years before tying it to inflation—said he ruled out any lame-duck action on the legislation after conversations with House leadership.
Looks like Congress is kicking the can.
So what’s next? The country needs a reliable revenue sources to fund the transportation improvements that commuters and employers desperately need. MPC will continue to make the case for a number of policy changes to reform the way we bring in and spend transportation dollars.
Federal revenue options
- Increase the federal motor fuel tax and index it to inflation to ensure that this revenue source remains steady over time.
- Implement a vehicle miles traveled tax to account for the decreasing returns of a per-gallon motor fuel tax as vehicle efficiency increases.
- Allow tolling of existing roads. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) limited states' and regions' abilities to use congestion pricing—a powerful tool to manage vehicular traffic while improving transportation options—by failing to reauthorize several programs and by effectively prohibiting states from tolling existing Interstate lanes. As one remedy, MPC supports Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-Ill.) Lincoln Legacy Infrastructure Development Act, which not only would advance congestion pricing but also encourage public-private partnerships to fund transportation improvements.
- Restore selection criteria for project funding. MAP-21 unfortunately eliminated one of the greatest strengths of a competitive loan fund known as the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act: project selection criteria. MPC supports reinstating these criteria to ensure these loans support only the most innovative nationally or regionally significant projects.
- Restore the Transit Commuter Benefit. MAP-21 lowered pre-tax commuter benefits for transit while maintaining parking benefits. MPC supports re-instating parity between the pretax transit and parking benefits, to equally reward commuters who take transit to work.
Below is the letter sent to House leadership.
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Dear Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi:
Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives have consistently recognized the importance of a well-functioning and efficient surface transportation network in the United States. We know that our country needs robust transportation infrastructure to compete in the global economy and that without such a network, the United States will be less able to realize future economic growth.
Very simply, we support transportation and infrastructure investment because our economy needs a national system to safely move people and deliver goods from place to place. Our constituents in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture and distribution sectors rely heavily on our network of roads and bridges to move the products that make us competitive around the globe.
We were pleased that Congress was able to enact the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) in 2012, but we are more troubled by the significant uncertainty that has plagued federal highway and transit policy in recent years. In the last decade, there have been nine short-term extensions of highway and transit programs. This kind of uncertainty impedes economic growth and makes it difficult for our country to fulfill its competitive potential.
The current extension of the Highway Trust Fund is slated to expire on May 31, 2015. This is not a long way off. We are united in our conviction that now is the time to end the cycle of short-term extensions that kick the can down the road by doing the work needed to pass a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill. To make this happen, we support efforts to develop a long-term sustainable revenue source for our nation’s transportation network as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will not be able to enact a transportation bill that truly meets our country’s economic and infrastructure needs.
We respectfully urge you to move a responsibly paid-for multi-year surface transportation bill that will support much needed economic growth throughout our nation. We stand ready to work with you on this endeavor in the coming months.
Sincerely,
Supporting Organizations:
American Road & Transportation Builders Association
Associated General Contractors of America
AAA
Airports Council International - North America
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
American Concrete Pipe AssociationAmerican Council of Engineering Companies
American Highway Users Alliance
American Iron and Steel Institute
American Moving and Storage Association
American Public Transportation Association
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Landscape Architects
American Traffic Safety Services Association
American Trucking Associations
Associated Equipment Distributors
Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Building America's Future
Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
Governors Highway Safety Association
Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America)
International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association
International Union of Operating Engineers
Laborers’ International Union of North America
Metropolitan Planning Council (Chicago)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
NAACP
NAIOP, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association
National Asphalt Pavement Association
National Association of Development Organizations
National Electrical Contractors Association
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
National Recreation and Park Association
National Retail Federation
National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association
National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc.
National Utility Contractors Association
People for Bikes
Safe Kids Worldwide
Transportation Intermediaries Association
Truckload Carriers Association
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Travel Association