Senate Climate Bill Diverts Billions from Highway Trust Fund

The American Power Act (explained above in detail) places new pollution fees on the gasoline and diesel fuels used by cars and trucks without returning most of the revenue generated from that fee to improving our transportation system.  AGC estimates these fees would generate at least $19.5 billion in revenue and divert at least 77 percent of the funds from on-road fuel consumption away from transportation investment.  The bill will allocate $6.25 billion annually for transportation.  Of that  $6.25 billion, $2.5 billion would go to the Highway Trust Fund - with a mandate to set aside funding for projects that decrease greenhouse gas emissions - while the rest of the money will be equally divided between the competitive federal TIGER grants and local land-use planning, as laid-out in the CLEAN-TEA bill. AGC and its transportation stakeholders will send a letter and request meetings with Senators Kerry and Lieberman with the clear message that the amount of funding that they are providing to the Highway Trust Fund will not only fail to keep the trust fund solvent but will make it impossible to find the revenue necessary to pay for a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.  AGC issued this statement in response to the bill. For more information and to write your Senator, click here.