Obama Budget Proposes 6-year, $18 Billion Freight Plan, Truck Safety Improvements
The Obama administration’s fiscal 2016 budget unveiled Feb. 2 includes $18 billion for a six-year freight program designed to reduce roadway congestion, which the trucking industry says would improve efficiency.
Dubbed the National Export Initiative, the program would fund regional multimodal, corridor-based projects to improve the delivery of goods that move around the country.
In 2013, the American Transportation Research Institute found that congestion results in more than $9.2 billion in operational expenses for the trucking industry.
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The administration’s request also would provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with resources to ensure the safe delivery of oil and other commodities by truck and rail. It would provide $7.5 billion to improve highway safety and $1 billion for a loan program used to back transportation projects of regional or national significance.
The request would allocate $1.25 billion annually for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery infrastructure grants that assist cities and states with modernizing big-ticket projects. And it would provide $500 million for the Fixing and Accelerating Surface Transportation program to upgrade infrastructure.
The administration is proposing a six-year, $478 billion transportation reauthorization bill that would rely significantly on a one-time tax on past corporate profits held overseas to pay for highway projects. Under the plan, the Highway Trust Fund account would get more than $40 billion in fiscal 2016 from the tax proposal and nearly $40 billion from fuel taxes.
The Highway Trust Fund also would be renamed the Transportation Trust Fund to account for grant and safety programs, rail and transit spending. Overall budget authority for the Department of Transportation, discretionary and mandatory spending, would increase from $71.3 billion in fiscal 2014 to $94.5 billion in fiscal 2016.
“A safe, efficient and well-functioning transportation system is critical to America’s economic future. Our nation’s economy relies on our transportation system to move people and goods safely, facilitate commerce, attract and retain businesses, and support jobs,” the White House’s Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.
While the administration is pushing corporate tax reform to fund projects, Republican opposition to tax increases hurts the proposal’s chances in the House and Senate.
“This budget is simply more of the same. The American people are working harder than ever to get ahead, and this administration wants to put up yet another roadblock: $2.1 trillion in new taxes. And despite this massive tax hike, the president's budget never balances, adding $8.5 trillion in more debt. This is simply unacceptable,” Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.
