Two members of Congress—a Senate Republican and a House Democrat—offered separate transportation proposals Feb. 1 that include shoring up revenues for the Highway Trust Fund beyond 2020, when current multiyear authorization and funding legislation expires.
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), who chairs the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, unveiled a "Build USA Infrastructure Act" to require that for the five-year period starting Oct. 1, 2020, the first $21.4 billion of revenues collected each fiscal year by U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to cover a projected shortfall between the HTF's dedicated tax receipts and projected spending.
Meanwhile, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), ranking Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called for Congress to index federal motor fuel taxes to construction cost inflation and use that new revenue to back 30-year infrastructure bonds, as part of a three-part plan to increase investment in highways and transit, harbors, and airports.
The fund is financed by the federal gasoline tax and pays for road construction, maintenance and other transportation projects throughout the nation. By 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the fund will be facing a $107 billion funding gap.
But President Trump, who has vowed to move a massive infrastructure package through Congress, hasn't signaled whether he plans to address highway funding in his infrastructure bill. So far, Trump has shown a strong preference for private funding tools that may benefit urban areas over rural regions.
