AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATIONS

A proposal by the Obama Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would eliminate the Highway Trust Fund “firewall” and allow the diversion of dedicated highway user fees from critical repair and expansion projects.

This diversion of funds could result in spending user fees for other budget items instead of their intended purpose—rebuilding our highway infrastructure. ATA is concerned that elimination of the firewall could reduce already scarce highway infrastructure funds. OMB’s proposal would redefine trust fund spending on infrastructure projects as “discretionary” spending, rather than dedicated expenditures for highways.

Currently, transportation authorization committees set the contract authority spending levels so that federal Highway Trust Fund revenues cannot be diverted to other domestic purposes. The 1998 highway law (PL 105-178) stops the practice of appropriating less for highways than the fuel tax generates for the trust fund.

On Feb. 27, a bipartisan group of 14 Senators and Representatives from major Congressional committees signed a letter stating strong opposition against the changes made in the proposed budget.
“We have a longstanding commitment to ensuring that the user fees deposited into the Highway and Aviation Trust Funds are in fact used for their intended purposes—to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure,” states the letter.

The signatories are the Chairmen and Ranking Minority Members of key committees dealing with transportation funding:

Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Chairman, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure;

Rep. John L. Mica (Fla.), Ranking Member, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure;

Sen. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works;

Sen. James M. Inhofe (Okla.), Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works;

Sen. John D. Rockefeller, IV (W.Va.), Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation;

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas), Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation;

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.), Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs;

Sen. Richard M. Shelby (Ala.), Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs;

Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, and Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure;

Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure;

Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.), Chairman, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit;

Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (Tenn.), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit;

Rep. Jerry F. Costello (Ill.), Chairman, Subcommittee on Aviation; and

Rep. Thomas E. Petri (Wis.), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation.

The letter also emphasizes that the Highway Trust Fund represents a contract between the Federal Government and the user. User fees are levied for our highway system and, in return, the Government pledged to build infrastructure for the taxpayers’ use.

On March 9 ATA President and CEO Bill Graves submitted letters to Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Chairman of Senate Budget Committee, Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), ranking member of Senate Budget Committee, John Spratt (D-S.C.), Chairman of House Budget Committee and Paul Ryan ( R-Wisc.), ranking member of House Budget Committee.

On behalf of ATA and the trucking industry, Governor Graves expressed further concern that the change in budgeting would eliminate contract authority and jeopardize the user-based funding of the Highway Trust Fund.

User financing is a hallmark of our nation’s highway system and those user charges must be updated and used solely for highway projects. Strengthening the Highway Trust Fund is essential for our nation’s highway infrastructure, which in 2009 received a grade of D- from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Congestion problems annually cost the U.S. economy $78 billion in the form of 4.2 billion "lost hours" and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel.