Highway Trust Fund

How the US Chamber plans to shape supply chain policy in Washington

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building in Washington, D.C.

As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s expert on supply chain and customs-related issues, John Drake recently added two related policy areas — transportation and infrastructure — to his portfolio that are also major priorities for his members.

In his new role as the vice president of transportation, infrastructure and supply chain policy, Drake is tasked with leading the Chamber’s advocacy on all those issues on Capitol Hill and within the administration.

Given his promotion earlier this month, we...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-the-us-chamber-plans-to-shape-supply-chain-policy-in-washington

Watchdog pushing feds to move on truck user fee pilots

Shoring up the struggling Highway Trust Fund (HTF) using a mileage-based user fee regime for cars and trucks may take longer than anticipated based on a new federal oversight report.

That’s because the Federal Highway Administration has so far not determined how to scale up various state and regional pilot projects around the country, according to the report, issued this week by the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO stated that since 2016, federally funded mileage-fee pilot projects were...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/watchdog-pushing-feds-to-move-on-truck-user-fee-pilots

Trumka predicted passage of infrastructure bill in coming months

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, whose death was announced Thursday by the labor organization he led since 2009, warned that the economy was “at a crossroads” and stood a chance of slipping if lawmakers did not give more than lip service to passing an infrastructure bill this year.

In addition to creating jobs and lowering unemployment, “investing in roads and bridges and transit and climate mitigation and all of those things will make America stronger and more competitive,” Trumka, who was 72,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trumka-predicted-passage-of-infrastructure-bill-in-coming-months

Biden sends federal motor fuels tax packing, Washington insider says

President Joe Biden has thrust a dagger into the heart of the federal motor fuels tax and, with it, the trust fund that’s long been dedicated to paying for highway projects.

So says Randy Mullett, a multidecade veteran of the inside-the-beltway transportation wars and head of a Virginia-based consultancy. Biden’s staunch opposition to an increase in the federal fuels tax — which hasn’t been raised since 1993 — sends a clear message to Congress that the Highway Trust Fund, which for decades has...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-sends-federal-motor-fuels-tax-packing-washington-insider-says

FreightWaves Classics: Federal Highway Administration supports US road system

Traffic on a busy interstate. (Photo: saferoads.org)

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that is focused on highway transportation. The FHWA supports state and local governments in the design, construction and maintenance of the national highway system as well as roads on federally and tribally owned lands.

Oversight of the FHWA is conducted by an administrator appointed by the President by and with the consent of the U.S. Senate. The administrator works under the direction of the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-federal-highway-administration-supports-us-road-system

How does the Highway Trust Fund work?

As Congress attempts to negotiate a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill to replace the FAST Act — which expires on Sept. 30 — finding the money to pay for it will be the most contentious issue. Central to the pay-for question is the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

Congress established the fund in 1956 as a way for the federal government to fund the construction of the Interstate Highway System. After much of the work on the system was completed, spending out of the HTF shifted to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/how-does-the-highway-trust-fund-work

Road-user fee advocates warn Congress: Give truckers priority

The trucking industry was given a wide berth by tax policy experts called to Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify on funding options that will keep the highway trust fund (HTF) from going bankrupt.

For more than a decade, the government has been spending more each year from the HTF than the revenues collected for it, the director of microeconomic analysis for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Joseph Kile, told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Those revenues come mostly...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/road-user-fee-advocates-warn-congress-give-truckers-priority

ATRI puts $20B price tag on vehicle-miles-traveled tax

New research released Wednesday from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found that replacing the federal fuel tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) tax could result in collection costs of more than $20 billion annually.

The main reason for that price tag – which is 300 times higher than the current cost to collect fuel taxes – is a “shift in collection points” from a limited number of fuel terminal operators to 272 million registered motor vehicles in the U.S.

The report...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/atri-puts-20b-price-tag-on-vehicle-miles-traveled-tax

Lawmaker: Use Postal Service to test vehicle-miles-traveled fee

One of the strongest voices in Congress calling for replacing the gas tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) user fee is proposing the U.S. Postal Service as the place to test the idea.

“The final step necessary to begin a full conversion to a VMT system is to test it in an interoperable, national setting,” Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri and ranking member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement Friday.

“The USPS operates a large, nationwide fleet of vehicles...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lawmaker:-use-postal-service-to-test-vehicle-miles-traveled-fee

+ More
Join Our Newsletter
Enter your email to receive a weekly round-up of shipping news.
icon
By subscribing, you agree with our privacy policy and our terms of service.