Congress
Tackles Highway Financing Issues
The Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax, public-private partnerships and
the level of highway funding received attention in recent days, as
lawmakers prepare for the highway reauthorization bill.
In a hearing last week, House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) expressed support for
accelerating the transition to the VMT. He suggested doing away with a
proposed VMT pilot project and instead ramping up the transition to the
tax.
Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have
now introduced bills to reduce the spread of public-private partnerships
to fund highway projects. One bill would ensure that privatized highways
effectively lower a state’s eligibility for federal highway
funds.The other would restrict the depreciation schedule for a private
company’s lease of a public highway, thereby ending a practice
that currently makes the tax treatment of lease projects highly
favorable.
Additionally, Congress approved a 2010 budget resolution that
included a baseline of $324 billion over the next six years for highway
spending, much higher than the Senate version of the resolution.
Chairman Oberstar has stated he would like to pass a highway spending
bill of approximately $500 billion over six years.
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