[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E152-E153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE UPDATE, PROMOTE AND DEVELOP AMERICA'S 
TRANSPORTATION ESSENTIALS ACT OF 2015, AND THE ROAD USAGE CHARGE PILOT 
                          PROGRAM ACT OF 2015

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2015

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing two pieces of 
legislation to address America's growing infrastructure funding crisis 
and looming transportation cliff. The reason is simple: America is 
falling apart and falling behind. The American Society of Civil 
Engineers (ASCE) rated our infrastructure as a D+ and America, which 
once had the finest infrastructure in the world, was ranked 25th, 
behind Barbados and Oman, in 2013. The funding mechanism for our 
transportation system has been broken for years, and the Highway Trust 
Fund will run dry in May. On the eve of peak construction season, the 
U.S. Department of Transportation will be forced to stop reimbursing 
states for highway and transit projects. The uncertainty is already 
causing states and local governments to put off or cancel much-needed 
maintenance, let alone new investment.
  If this sounds familiar, it's because we've been here before. Since 
the last full six year surface transportation bill expired in 2003, 
Congress has passed 2 partial authorizations and 23 short-term 
extensions, most recently in August 2014. The federal gas tax, 
unchanged since 1993, has locked the Highway Trust Fund in a death 
spiral, and the search for necessary revenue has derailed a 
traditionally bipartisan, consensus-driven policy process. Just to 
maintain current, inadequate transportation funding, Congress has had 
to borrow more than $65 billion from the general fund since 2008, in an 
increasingly desperate search for revenue in all corners of the federal 
budget.
  The gas tax, since it was last raised to 18.4 cents a gallon in 1993, 
has lost nearly 40% of its purchasing power due to inflation and rising 
fuel efficiency. If the gas tax had been indexed to inflation in 1993, 
it would be at nearly 30 cents a gallon. Instead, the gas tax is barely 
higher in real terms than the first federal gas tax, levied at one cent 
a gallon in 1932. We're trying to fund 21st Century infrastructure with 
a Depression Era level of investment. It's no surprise that we face 
Depression Era consequences.
  The Highway Trust Fund will run an annual shortfall of more than $15 
billion after 2017, and unless Congress acts, we face a drop in 
transportation funding of 30% over the next ten years. The situation is 
already dire--rough roads alone cost each driver an average of $324 a 
year, and the cost of time wasted sitting in traffic will top $1000 per 
family by 2020. Further, the American Society of Civil Engineers 
estimates that our deteriorating infrastructure will restrict our 
national GDP growth by nearly $900 billion by 2020.
  The case for increasing our investment in infrastructure is clear. A 
recent S&P Ratings report suggests that every $1.3 billion invested in 
infrastructure would add 29,000 jobs, $2 billion in economic growth, 
and cut the deficit by $200 million. Two congressionally authorized 
commissions, the Simpson Bowles deficit reduction plan, and 
organizations representing business, labor, environmentalists, car 
advocates and cyclists, all agree on the solution to solve the Highway 
Trust Fund crisis and increase transportation investment: raise the 
federal gas tax.
  The UPDATE Act, which I introduced today, would increase federal gas 
and diesel taxes by a nickel a year, phased in over each of the next 
three years, and index those taxes to inflation. This would generate 
$210 billion over the next ten years, enough to make up the Highway 
Trust Fund shortfall and increase infrastructure investment by at least 
$4 billion a year. It would cost the average driver roughly $70 a year 
over the next six years, or less than 20% of what every American is 
already paying in vehicle maintenance, lost travel time, and carbon 
pollution.
  Increasing the gas tax is the only solution to our growing revenue 
crisis that is dedicated to transportation spending, sustainable for 
the long term, and is big enough to do the job. For the first time in 
years, it's also politically possible. World oil prices have fallen 
nearly 60% since June 2014, and prices at the pump were at a six year 
low last week. More than 12 states are now considering increasing gas 
taxes, taking advantage of low prices. 8 states acted to raise gas 
taxes in the last two years, including Wyoming and New Hampshire. A 
growing number of Senators from both parties and Democratic Leader 
Nancy Pelosi have signaled openness, if not outright support for 
raising the gas tax.
  The UPDATE Act will stabilize the Highway Trust Fund, and make sure 
that our infrastructure crisis does not worsen. The legislation

[[Page E153]]

also affirms the sense of the Congress that by 2024, the gas tax should 
be repealed and replaced with a more sustainable funding source. My 
second piece of legislation, the Road Usage Charge Pilot Program Act, 
provides research funding for states to explore a transition away from 
the gas tax to a system based on vehicle miles travelled (VMT). Such a 
Road Usage Charge system would be more fair, a more accurate reflection 
of road use, and more sustainable for the long term, as fuel efficiency 
increases and hybrid and electric vehicles rise in popularity. 
Questions remain about how best to implement such a system, collect 
revenue, and address privacy concerns. Congress should encourage states 
to answer these questions through pilot projects. This legislation, 
instead of tying America's transportation system to the past, paves the 
way for the future.
  Addressing the infrastructure deficit, stabilizing transportation 
funding, and helping America's all-too-slow economic recovery is 
critical if we want a livable and economically prosperous country in 
the years to come. All we need to make it happen is a commitment to 
build the future together.

                          ____________________