[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY TO ESTABLISH A ROAD USER 
                           FEE PILOT PROJECT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2012

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as vehicles become more fuel efficient, 
they increase the demand on our transportation system without 
contributing as much to its maintenance. The Congressional Budget 
Office analysis shows that the newest fuel economy standards for 
automobiles will result in a 21 percent reduction in Highway Trust Fund 
revenue by 2040, based on current driving patterns. Already, during the 
past four years, Congress has transferred over $48 billion from the 
General Fund into the Highway Trust Fund. Estimates suggest that when 
current transportation authorization expires, the Highway Trust Fund 
will require almost $15 billion a year in addition to current gas tax 
receipts, simply to maintain 2009 funding levels. Until we tie our 
transportation revenues to our transportation demands, this situation 
will worsen.
  Failure to adequately fund transportation infrastructure imposes huge 
costs on American citizens and businesses:
  Congestion costs urban Americans 4.2 billion hours and 2.8 billion 
unnecessary gallons of fuel each year; expressed in dollar terms this 
is $87.2 billion, or $750 per traveler. By 2015, this cost is expected 
to increase to more than $900 per traveler.
  Roughly 40,000 people every year are killed on our streets and 
highways, with 2.5 million more injured, at a staggering annual 
economic cost to society.
  Higher transportation costs and higher inventory carrying costs--
partially attributable to an unreliable transportation system--have 
pushed logistics costs to nearly 10% of GDP.
  Analysis by the American Society of Civil Engineers suggests that the 
cost of our failing transportation system could result in the loss of 
876,000 jobs by 2020.
  We must find innovative solutions to these challenging revenue 
problems.
  A number of states, including Nevada, Minnesota, Iowa, Texas, and New 
York have tested small pilot projects where they charged drivers for 
the number of miles they traveled rather than the fuel they consumed. 
The tests have proved convenient for drivers, protected personal 
privacy, and been easily administrable. The Oregon Department of 
Transportation is now embarking on a second phase of their pilot 
project, which will expand the pool of users and test alternative 
different collection methods to address questions raised by their first 
pilot.
  Two blue ribbon commissions established in the prior transportation 
authorization SAFETEA-LU, as well as numerous other policy experts, 
have suggested that transitioning to a vehicle miles travelled system, 
rather than a gas tax, will provide the most stability to the Highway 
Trust Fund, and will most accurately reflect the user fee concept it is 
based upon. The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue 
Study Commission noted that a vehicle miles traveled charge is the 
``the most promising alternative revenue measure'' to our existing gas 
tax, while the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing 
Commission reported that ``a charge for each mile driven . . . has 
emerged as the consensus choice for the future.'' Both commissions 
found that this system was efficient at raising revenue, closely linked 
system demand to revenues, and could win broad public support.
  The legislation I am introducing today calls on the Department of the 
Treasury to study the viability of this revenue source in every State. 
While evaluating mileage based revenue sources, Treasury will ensure 
the system protects privacy and is simple to administer. It will also 
convene working groups to address the most complex aspects of this 
transition, including road use, demand management, climate change, and 
technological needs. The bill also creates a grant program to ensure 
the necessary technology is available. I look forward to working with 
stakeholders to advance and refine this proposal.
  The condition of our national highway and transit systems and the 
maintenance of our infrastructure, and the investments that we make in 
these systems, touches the life of every American. Improving those 
systems strengthens our economy, expands personal freedom and mobility, 
and can help protect our environment. I look forward to stakeholder 
feedback on this proposal, and am eager to work with my colleagues to 
support a vehicle miles travelled user fee, and explore other 
alternatives to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund is adequately 
funded.

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