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Friday, May 09, 2014

America's federal transportation money is inside a broken system that badly needs fixing

"America has a transportation funding problem. And if Congress doesn't fix it this summer, it could start doing some real damage," especially in rural areas, Lydia Depillis reports for The Washington Post. "Most big transportation projects -- bridge repairs, new highways, intercity rail -- are paid for with a stack of local, state, and federal funds. The problem for funding is that Americans are actually using less gas than they used to -- both because they aren't driving as much, and cars are getting more efficient. Meanwhile, Congress hasn't raised the gas tax from 18.4 cents per gallon since 1994, which is now far behind what it was then when you take inflation into account."

Instead of raising the tax, or finding some other funding mechanism, Congress has "simply plugged the hole with multi-billion-dollar transfers from the general fund," financed by other taxes, Depillis writes. "The last authorization, a $19.5 billion chunk granted in 2012, expires at the end of this September -- at which point, unless Congress acts, the federal contribution for hundreds of state projects will drop to zero."

"According to calculations by the advocacy group Transportation for America, it could amount to a loss of $46.8 billion compared to current funding levels," which would lead many states to put the brakes on planned projects, Depillis writes.

The White House recently "sent Congress a $302 billion, four-year plan that shifts more money into transit over highways, and relies on corporate tax reform to create new revenue streams," Depillis writes. "But the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has announced its intention to craft a bill that essentially maintains current funding levels."

States are already experimenting with a few new ideas, including a vehicle-miles-traveled tax, which "would assess fees for the distance you drive rather than the amount of fuel you use (which is a way to make sure electric and hybrid car drivers pay their share for road wear and tear)," Depillis writes. "It's also possible to tweak the gas tax in a way that it responds to increases in transportation costs. Others think it would make more sense to devolve transportation funding to the states entirely, which would free them of the sclerotic congressional process and allow metropolitan areas to be more agile and creative with their transit projects." (Read more)

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