
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., is a longtime supporter of raising federal fuel taxes to pay for highways and will float that idea with his colleagues as they draft the next highway bill. Carper sees a gradual fuel tax increase as a fiscally responsible approach to highway funding but is open to other ideas as well, according to his office.
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Anthony Foxx is on the road this week emphasizing the importance of infrastructure funding, with the Obama Administration concerned about the ability to pass a new long-term highway funding authorization before two key deadlines.
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The Highway Trust Fund is likely to run into the red by September, according to the latest update from the Department of Transportation. In its most recent monthly status report, DOT shows the fund’s cash balance dipping below zero in late August or the first week of September.
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A bipartisan group of Senators has agreed on the outline of bill to reauthorize the federal highway program. The terms of the deal cover policy principles such as a long-term bill and maintaining existing programs but they do not cover the key question of how to pay for the program.
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The hearing rooms change but the theme remains the same: Congress must find a way to restore the Highway Trust Fund so it can support a robust, long-term federal highway program. That was the key take-away from state and local officials testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday.
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Ideas for infusions into the Highway Trust Fund got conflicting receptions before congressional tax committees this week, as Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden said he's looking for solutions while Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp expressed concerns about the Obama administration's proposal.
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With the federal Highway Trust Fund projected to be unable to support any new highway, bridge and public transportation improvements in fiscal year 2015, a national coalition of associations and labor unions announced that it is launching a campaign to help educate Congress about the connection between local jobs and federal highway and transit investment.
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It won’t be easy, but there’s at least a glimmer of a way for Congress to come up with money to fund a longer-term highway bill. The Highway Trust Fund is going to run out of money possibly as soon as August, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
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President Obama and Rep. Dave Camp both suggested one-time infusions to the Highway Trust Fund that is expected to run out of money by September.
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Congress is getting to work on the next highway bill. At its opening hearing on reauthorization on Jan. 14, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard urgent calls for a bipartisan approach to sustainable funding, a multi-year program and federal leadership.
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