The plan would transfer $18 billion from the federal General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund Highway Account for FY 2009 and FY 2010 and $2 billion to the HTF Mass Transit Account for FY 2010 to address the HTF’s deteriorating fiscal situation. The transfer would be repaid over 10 years by a yet to be determined revenue source. The administration suggested initiatives to develop guidelines for multimodal regional access plans and livable communities (land-use planning, smart growth) could be included in the extension.
The administration also proposes allocating $300 million to improve data collection for states and metropolitan planning organizations; $10 million to help states and localities improve cross-modal project evaluation; and increased transparency and reporting on the spending of federal transportation funds.
