Rep. Paul Ryan Says Short-Term Highway Patch to Be Unveiled in Three Weeks
WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the tax-writing committee in the House, said April 30 that in about three weeks he will unveil a short-term measure that would keep highway programs funded for several months, or probably through the end of the year.
Ryan said the measure would not be backed by an increase in taxes on fuels. Raising such taxes is a position backed by most of the transportation sector, including the trucking industry.
“I don’t have it right now,” Ryan told reporters at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, referring to the short-term fix. “We’re working on that right now. We’re running numbers, getting scores and talking with our colleagues.”
“Ron [Wyden], Orrin [Hatch], Sandy [Levin], and I are just beginning to figure out this together … the short-term patch,” he added, “I believe that Rep. [Bill)] Shuster thinks that you need to get it through the year for road construction planning reasons. So we’ll do a patch through the year, I believe.”
Sens. Hatch (R-Utah) and Wyden (D-Ore.) are chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the tax-writing Finance Committee. Levin, a Michigan Democrat, is the ranking member on Ways and Means. Shuster (R-Pa.) is chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House, which oversees policy.
Ryan, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said that a short-term funding patch that expires Dec. 31 would need to be backed by about $10 billion — a sum he said the leaders of the tax-writing panels are looking to identify before the end of May.
Ryan added that the crafting of a highway funding proposal was occurring while he worked on a tax reform package that he said could be ready by this summer, and the two plans could be linked. But if a tax reform package is not realized this summer, Ryan said he would look to advance a six-year highway policy bill after the short-term highway funding measure ends.
For a six-year measure to happen, “we’ll have to put together a combination of ‘pay-fors,’ ” Ryan said. “We’re not going to raise gas taxes.”
Funding authority for highway programs expires May 31, and the trust fund is projected to be unable to help states finance infrastructure projects by this summer. It is worth noting it has been nearly three decades since lawmakers achieved a revamp of the tax system.
