US Senator John Thune says supporting the country’s vast transportation system is a legitimate and valid use of taxpayer dollars. The Highway Trust Fund neared fallout this summer. Congress approved a stopgap last week that provides funding for states through May of next year. Thune says Congress needs to find a reliable funding source soon.
Congress has propped up the Highway Trust Fund for another nine months, so states can get their reimbursements for federal bridge and road projects throughout construction season.
Thune says leaders need to avoid additional extensions and instead focus on developing a solid base to support the federal highway fund. Thune says lawmakers are trying to develop a solution to the fund’s shortfall, but he says many of the options just don’t generate enough money.
"And there’s a proposal to raise the gas tax by six cents next year, the six cents the year after that and then index it after that, and that would get you about what you would need to fund a long-term extension of the highway bill," Thune says. "So whether it’s one of those or some combination of those, we just need to do it."
Thune says some bigger states prefer an option to eliminate the trust fund and turn over the interstate upkeep responsibilities to the states, but that hurts small states like South Dakota that pay in less than they receive to maintain federal roads and bridges.
Thune says the nationwide system of interconnected roads gives the US a competitive advantage when compared with the lackluster transportation systems of many countries around the globe.