House Panel to Consider Short-Term Trust Fund Fix July 10
The leaders of the tax-writing committee in the House scheduled a hearing July 10 to consider a bill that would keep a cash-strapped highway account solvent for several months.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) will oversee the panel’s consideration of the bill, which would provide about $10 billion for the Highway Trust Fund through changes to pension structures and customs fees.
COMING THURSDAY: Live coverage of Ways and Means hearing
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill’s pension-smoothing proposal would raise more than $6 billion, and changes to customs fees would amount to nearly $4 billion.
The Ways and Means hearing will begin at 10 a.m. EDT. Meanwhile, the Democratic leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are expected to unveil their updated proposal to shore up the trust fund. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the ranking member on the Finance Committee, said this week that negotiations on a trust fund short-term patch were in a "state of flux."
With the trust fund estimated to run out of money by August, transportation groups and local governments have been urging lawmakers to approve a short-term funding boost. The trust fund reimburses states for large-scale road projects. Without the federal dollars, states have indicated they would consider halting highway construction projects this summer. The trust fund relies primarily on revenue from the national gas tax, but fuel-efficiency improvements have cut significantly into that funding source. Over the years, Congress has approved transferring funds from the Treasury to keep the trust fund solvent.
On July 8, conservative groups called on lawmakers to reject proposals to raise federal fuel taxes. The groups included the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Americans for Tax Reform.
