House Follows Senate in Approving $8 Billion for Highway Fund

A day after the Senate passed a bill to fund an $8 billion shortfall in the federal Highway Trust Fund, the House followed suit, voting 376-29 to approve a similar measure.

“Restoring the $8 billion to the Trust Fund is appropriate because these funds represent highway user revenues that were intended to be used for highway purposes,” said Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and who backed the bill.

The Senate by a voice vote Wednesday approved the measure, which now goes to President Bush for his signature.

In a statement, American Trucking Associations praised Congress for approving the legislation

“We’re pleased to see that the Administration and Congress recognize the significant need to sustain the nation’s infrastructure, which is a vital link to the health of the U.S. economy,” said ATA President Bill Graves. “Restoring these critical funds is an important step in solving the complex problem of funding our transportation network.”

Transportation Secretary Mary Peers also praised the move, though she said more needed to be done.

“Congress has acted quickly to protect states from the pain of a funding shortfall, but the fundamental problems that plague the nation’s transportation system are far from healed,” Peters said.

“Congress must now address the pressing need for meaningful reforms to the way we raise and invest transportation funds with the same bipartisan spirit and energy as it did in voting for these additional resources,” she said in a statement.

The 52-year-old trust fund — which is paid for by federal fuel taxes — provides nearly half of public funding for surface transportation capital projects, and had a surplus of $10 billion just three years ago, the Associated Press reported.

Congress has not raised the federal fuel tax since 1993 despite inflation and sharp increases in construction costs, AP said. Federal fuel taxes are 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline, and 24.3 cents a gallon on diesel.

The federal highway bill is scheduled to be reauthorized in 2009.