"NO" on the Senate Transportation Bill
"NO" on the Senate Transportation Bill
This week, the Senate is expected to vote on the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (S. 1813). The MAP-21 transportation reauthorization extends transportation funding and programs for two years at a cost of $109 billion. While MAP-21 is earmark free and includes some reforms, it continues to fund the highway, safety, and transit programs at levels in excess of revenues expected from the federal gas tax.
In order to close the funding gap, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) proposed numerous revenue raisers to close the $12 billion shortfall. Some of the revenue raisers are actually tax hikes on drivers - like a "gas guzzler tax" on vehicles that do not meet fuel efficiency standards, which would raise about $697 million over a decade. Others are funding transfers or fee diversions that could cause shortfalls in other government programs, requiring additional deficit spending in the future. As the Congressional Research Service notes, "Using any of these, however, would weaken the claim that road users pay the cost of the federal highway program."
Continuing to fund programs above dedicated revenue sources will inevitably lead to revenue increases (i.e., tax hikes) or bailouts. And while it does not contain earmarks, MAP-21 would reward states whose congressional delegations were successful in obtaining above-the-line-earmarks in SAFETEA-LU by locking in those higher funding levels. Congress should live within its means, as opposed to perpetuating ever growing albeit somewhat streamlined government, and focus on ways to empower states such as opt-out provisions or devolution.
Heritage Action opposes S. 1813 and will include it as a key vote on our scorecard.
Related:
Heritage Action's Scorecard
Will Transportation Reauthorization Be Another Big Spending Boondoggle?
Big Dollars for Transportation
"NO" on the Senate Transportation Bill