U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) recently sent a bipartisan letter, signed by more than 250 Congress members, to Kevin Brady
(R-TX), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, urging for the repair of the Highway Trust Fund to supply infrastructure long term instead of making a one-time $1 trillion investment, as the Trump Administration has proposed.
Graves is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, but it is Ways and Means Committee that controls funding.
The fund is financed by federal fuel taxes, but has not seen an increase in two decades. Money from the fund is distributed throughout the nation.
“The best thing we can do for this country’s transportation infrastructure is bring long-term certainty to the Highway Trust Fund,” Graves said. “What we need is a modern, sustainable system that keeps revenues flowing so states are able to invest in projects as they come up, not once it’s too late.”
A fix to the fund could be made as the Ways and Means Committee reforms the tax code, the letter said.
Any revenue increase the fund has received in the past 30 years came as part of tax reform or deficit reduction.The fund will reach a shortfall in 2020.