Sens. Boxer, Paul Team Up to Boost Highway Trust Fund
Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, the top Democrat on the transportation policy-writing Environment and Public Works Committee, announced on Jan. 29 she has teamed up with Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul on legislation that would use revenue from repatriation to pay for highway construction.
According to Boxer’s office, the legislation would extend the Highway Trust Fund by providing companies with an incentive to bring back to the United States, or repatriate, an estimated $2 trillion at a tax rate of 6.5%. The rate would apply only for the repatriations that exceed a company’s average recent repatriations, and funds must have been earned in 2015 or before that year.
Companies also would be allowed up to five years to complete the transfer, and the measure would ensure that a portion of the repatriated funds be devoted to public-private partnerships, increased wages and pensions, research and development, environmental improvements and capital improvements, among other uses.
“This bipartisan repatriation proposal is a win-win for our economy and our country,” Boxer said in a statement.
“All across the country, bridges and roads are deficient and in need of replacement. We can help fund new construction and repair by lowering the repatriation rate and bringing money held by U.S. companies back home. This would mean no new taxes, but more revenue, and it is a solution that should win support from both political parties,” Paul added.
The trust fund, used by the Department of Transportation to help cities pay for projects, is projected to run out of money when a 2012 transportation law expires at the end of May.
