Reaction to Effort to Preempt User Fees in Climate and Energy Legislation

Washington, DC – All the revenues from any new taxes, or “pollution fees,” placed on transportation fuels should be deposited directly into the Highway Trust Fund for investment in a multiyear federal surface transportation program.

“The Highway Trust Fund has been a reliable source of revenue for more than 50 years,” said John Horsley, AASHTO executive director. “Today, however, the Highway Trust Fund is in trouble. Three transfers from the general fund have had to be made to the Highway Trust Fund over in the past 18 months to keep it solvent. Meanwhile, the need for additional revenues to maintain and modernize our nation’s highways, bridges, and transit systems keeps growing. The 2008 U.S. DOT Conditions and Performance Report for Highways and Transit concluded that to improve the system, highway investment needs to increase to $174.6 billion annually, and to improve the transit system, $21.1 billion needs to be invested annually. The evidence is clear; Congress can ill afford to consider any legislation that preempts funding from the Highway Trust Fund which supports the vital transportation systems every American relies on.”

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the “Voice of Transportation” representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/aashtospeaks.