AASHTO approves $544.5 billion Transportation Reauthorization Proposal

Oct. 21, 2008

At its Fall Board meeting the week of Oct. 20, AASHTO approved a proposal from its SAFETEA-LU reauthorization task force to recommend to Congress that next year's surface transportation legislation authorize $544.5 billion in new funding. This would almost double the $286 billion authorized over six years in SAFETEA-LU.

At its Fall Board meeting the week of Oct. 20, AASHTO approved a proposal from its SAFETEA-LU reauthorization task force to recommend to Congress that next year's surface transportation legislation authorize $544.5 billion in new funding. This would almost double the $286 billion authorized over six years in SAFETEA-LU. AASHTO recommended a menu of different measures that could be used to raise the revenue necessary to fund the program at this level, including:

  • increase the Federal motor fuels tax by 1 cent per gal (raising $1.8 billion annually);
  • establish a national vehicle sales tax of 1% ($9 billion per year);
  • establish a 1% sales tax on motor fuels ($4.7 to $7.6 billion annually);
  • establish a distance traveled tax at 1 cent per mile ($32.4 billion annually);
  • implement a freight tonnage tax (42.8 billion per year);
  • create a tax credit bonding program ($50 billion); and
  • institute a $10 fee per container shipped through U.S. ports ($600 million per year).
  • The container shipping fee would be maintained in a new and separate freight fund account.

    The AASHTO proposal also recommended a number of reforms to the program. Chief among them is to limit the amount of funds that can be earmarked for specific projects to no more than 5% of total spending. In SAFETEA-LU members of Congress earmarked 18% of the program for specific projects.

    AASHTO also recommended consolidating the number of funding programs from more than 100 to six key programs as follows:

  • preservation and renewal;
  • freight capacity;
  • highway safety improvement;
  • operation and maintenance;
  • congestion reduction; and
  • environment.
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