Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since he was first elected to Congress in 2001. Due to internal caucus rules, he must step down as the chair of that committee at the end of the year due to term limits. He has decided to end his congressional career at the same time. However, before he departs he has decided to leave an outline of what he thinks needs to be done to repair our nation’s infrastructure. The draft legislation contains numerous ideas.
The biggest concept put forward in his plan is to nearly double the federal gas tax over the next three years. He proposes that gas taxes increase by 15 cents per gallon phased in over three years and that the diesel tax be increased by 20 cents a gallon over the same timeframe. After this occurs, the plan gets really interesting:
Congressman Shuster proposes that all fuel taxes expire in 2028, including the current 18.3-cent tax. As he points out, fuel taxes are a thing of the past, and new technologies on how we commute indicate that we need to find a new way to fund our transportation programs. Rep. Shuster doesn’t have a specific funding proposal in mind; instead, he will leave that recommendation to a special, independent 15-member commission who will be assigned to develop the funding plan for the future. This follows the concerns that SEMCOG has been voicing for years.
The draft legislation does give some insight into the direction the congressman is thinking about. The proposal includes setting up a per-mile user fee pilot project. He is looking at funding roads based on how much we travel, as opposed to how much gasoline we consume. In an era of better fuel economy and alternative energy vehicles, he is looking to the future. The draft also wants to make sure all users are supporting roads. He has included a tax on vehicle batteries and even adult bicycle tires, just to include all road users.
What would his proposal mean to Michigan? Around $750 million per year if the federal government does not withdraw its general fund support for the transportation fund. That would go a long way to getting our road system back in order. Part of his proposal would be to replace the TIGER grants with BUILD grants, which would distribute $3 billion per year, about twice the amount distributed under TIGER. The Shuster proposal also suggests that state and local government lease out public infrastructure to private entities and that the lease receipts be used to upgrade other infrastructure.
As Congressman Shuster points out, the Federal Highway Trust Fund could be insolvent by the fall of 2020 and that action needs to take place prior to that happening. Congressman Shuster has provided a blueprint that meets the needs as he sees them. What will the rest of Congress do?
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