House Democrats Press Highway Trust Fund Reauthorization
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., should consider holding a series of hearings in the near future to investigate Federal Highway Trust Fund financing options, said Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich., and 15 other House Democratic lawmakers in a Jan. 16 letter (here). The funding allocation for the program expires on Sept. 30, 2014, said the lawmakers.
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“At that time we will face the prospect of a dramatic reduction in transportation resources because the nearly $21.2 billion that was invested in the highway program through MAP-21 will have been expended,” said the lawmakers. “Our transportation programs may begin to notice the drop in funding this summer, when the Highway Trust Fund’s available cash on hand is likely to fall below $4 billion, which is the minimum amount necessary to maintain a sufficient balance to meet week-to-week obligations. Below this amount, reimbursement to delayed, construction projects will be curtailed, and jobs will be lost throughout the economy.”
The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), signed in 2012, delivered $105 billion in funds for surface transportation programs for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Fiscal year 2015 begins on Oct. 1, 2014. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a series of hearings on the Federal Highway Trust Fund in 2013, most recently discussing the program during a subcommittee hearing on Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants in December (here). House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Bill Shuster, R-Pa., promised to introduce a program reauthorization bill by August, said the letter.