U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) want the U.S. Department of Transportation to update them on the status of alternative means to fund the federal Highway Trust Fund.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the legislators requested the status of establishing a surface transportation advisory board that would inform and provide the structure for a new national pilot program to test mileage-based user fees as a funding alternative for the fund, that would potentially replace current motor fuel taxes.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) required the DOT to form the Federal System Funding Alternative Advisory Board no later than 90 days after it was enacted. Although the law went into effect on Nov. 15, 2021, the Advisory Board has yet to be formed, the Congressmen said.
“The 90-day timeline set forth reflects the urgency felt by both the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the need to identify a new source of sustainable funding for the Highway Trust Fund,” Graves wrote.
Prior to the IIJA, the Fixing American’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provided grants for states to test road usage charges, or Vehicle Miles Traveled fees, as an alternative to the gas tax. Those state pilots have shown promise, the Congressmen said. However, the IIJA included funding for a national pilot that required the recommendation from the advisory board first.
““The National pilot program will enable Congress to determine the feasibility of road usage charges as a viable funding source and, if they are, to consider these charges during the debate of the next Surface Transportation authorization bill,” the Congressmen said. “We remain concerned that the delay in launching the Advisory Board and the subsequent National pilot program risks preventing the timely development of the data needed for Congress to make an informed decision during that future funding debate.”
The letter asks Buttigieg to provide the committees with insight into DOT’s plans to establish the board by Aug. 24, 2023.