Spending approximately $50 billion per year on roads and transit systems, the federal program supplements similar volumes of spending by state and local governments, also usually derived from a state-imposed fuel tax. Read More.
Abstract: Wasteful, inequitable, and bristling with burdensome regulations, the Federal Highway Program is in dire need of reform. Although Members of Congress have attempted to enact changes in the past, the influence of many lobbyists and influential constituencies continues to thwart the process. By… Read more
As Congress gears up for another year, reining in spending and debt should top the agenda, but one issue heading squarely against that priority is reauthorization of the transportation program. The last transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, was marked by gluttonous excesses, which ranged from its porcine spending increases and wasteful spending… Read more
Abstract: Given tight federal budget restraints and shrinking transportation trust fund revenues, states and the federal government need to find alternative financial resources to finance needed transportation infrastructure projects, especially maintaining and expanding the capacity of the Interstate Highway System. Increased use of public–private… Read more
In October, the Obama Administration took the unprecedented step of revoking funds already awarded to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to study the feasibility of absorbing the independent turnpike commission, which operates the Ohio Turnpike, into ODOT or leasing the turnpike to private investors. Unfortunately for Ohio, neither option… Read more
As this Congress and President continue their struggle to reauthorize the federal highway program (now more than two years overdue), their focus should be maximizing the value of each dollar spent by directing available funds to programs that improve mobility and safety on the roads. To do this, Congress should… Read more
My name is Ronald. D. Utt. I am the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation. Until recently, federal… Read more
Growing dissatisfaction with federal transportation policy and government’s mismanagement of the highway trust fund have encouraged many in Congress and in state governments to seek ways to overhaul the system or to extract themselves from it. Since the mid-1990s, legislation has been introduced each year in Congress to phase out… Read more
There’s a simple solution to this traffic problem. We’ll have business build the roads and government build the cars. —Will Rogers The quote above, attributed to one of America’s preeminent comedians and social commentators, came at the dawn of the automobile… Read more
Resistance to higher fuel taxes to fund state and federal transportation programs has prompted President Obama and some members of Congress to endorse a federal infrastructure “bank.” The idea is to circumvent budgetary limits on federal spending to provide more money for highways, transit, and other infrastructure. Although each proposal… Read more
Under the laws governing the federal highway program, the federal fuel taxes paid into the trust fund by motorists (18.3 cents per gallon) and truckers are returned to the states by a series of mathematical formulas that attempt to match the scope and usage of each state’s surface transportation system… Read more
Delivered July 30, 2007 immigration has become the most controversial, complex, and sensitive subject we face today. It directly affects our economy, our culture, and our future. To ensure that any action we take on immigration policy is in our national interest, we need to approach the subject with reason and facts.… Read more
As the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate and has now entered a recession of uncertain magnitude, many in Congress, the media, and the business community are pushing for a bold federally funded stimulus package that they claim will create jobs, raise incomes, and put the economy back on its path of positive economic growth. Not… Read more
Over the past year Congressman James Oberstar (D–MN), chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, has introduced a partial draft of new highway legislation that would divert even more money from roads to bicycles, walking, transit, land use planning, and more federal employees to operate the program.… Read more
Early this year, the new Congress will confront several challenges relating to the size, scope, and nature of the federal surface transportation programs. These challenges will in large part be driven by the need to constrain overall federal spending and by shortfalls in the highway trust fund. Congress should embrace… Read more
When unemployment is reaching heights we have not seen in years, and cities are on the brink of bankruptcy, what is...… Read more
The aftermath of the unintended acceleration hearings involving Toyota is moving to the front burner again as lawmakers...… Read more
In a process familiar to any troubled sub prime borrower, the current federal highway reauthorization bill spends more...… Read more
The steep rise in gas prices has had a dramatic impact on American driving habits. According to Federal Highway...… Read more
What do the Bridge to Nowhere, the highway bill, the "subsidies for millionaires" farm bill and our crippling...… Read more