Eno Center Proposes Fixes for Highway Trust Fund

WASHINGTON — The Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington, D.C., think tank, has outlined ways to realize long-term funding for the national transportation system in a report unveiled at the National Press Club on Dec. 3.

The group studied how other countries fund infrastructure to reach their recommendations for transportation leaders on Capitol Hill. Three funding solutions proposed were adjusting spending to reflect revenues, adopting a hybrid approach that combines general funds and gas tax revenues or eliminating the trust fund and pay for surface transportation through a bigger general government fund.

“We keep pretending that we’re going to deal with the long-term funding issue, and then we don’t. So why don’t we admit that we’re not going to do that, and say this portion is general fund revenues, this portion is user pay and move on with our lives,” said Joshua Schank, the group’s executive director. Schank was joined by transportation stakeholders at the event.

“The Eno report includes good information that can inform the debate about federal support for transportation in the future," said Sean McNally, vice president of public affairs for American Trucking Associations. "Currently, however, ATA continues to support the user-pays system as the most viable path toward a stable Highway Trust Fund and establishment of a stronger federal program that focuses on national needs.

"Fuel tax revenue provides the stability and efficiency states need to plan long-term projects, and the rate of taxation need only be adjusted to meet the demand in order to restore the fuel tax as a viable revenue source for the foreseeable future."

Patrick Jones, executive director and CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association, said the report “brings another important perspective to the table in support of a more robust debate about how to fund surface transportation now and in the future.”

In recent years, lawmakers have not been able to agree on a multiyear approach to keep the trust fund solvent. Yet, after the November midterm elections, GOP transportation policy leaders have indicated they plan to reauthorize a two-year highway funding law before it expires in May. MAP-21 was set to expire last September, but Congress passed and President Obama signed into law a $10.8 billion short-term measure to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent.

The trust fund has been bankrolled by a national tax on gas and diesel fuel. Due to improvements in automobile fuel efficiency and more people who rely on transit options, the gas tax has been an insufficient source of funding.

The fund is used by the Department of Transportation to reimburse states for certain costs related to large-scale infrastructure projects. DOT officials and transportation experts note that an insolvent trust fund would force the department to scale back reimbursements for active transportation projects that affect industries, such as trucking.