CBO Report Confirms Highway Trust Fund’s Dismal Outlook

This week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its semi-annual estimate of the status of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) based on revenue flowing in. The CBO also anticipated expenditures based on current law requirements.  CBO estimates that the highway account and the transit account will be able to meet obligations through the end of FY 2014, but will not have sufficient revenue to meet all obligations for FY 2015. CBO points out that this estimate does not include any reduction in the amounts transferred from the general fund to the HTF as a result of MAP-21. While the HTF is not directly subject to sequestration on March 1, the general fund revenue that MAP-21 provided for the HTF will be reduced by the sequester.  CBO estimates that the highway account will end FY 2013 with balances of more than $5 billion, and the transit account will end the year with balances of just under $3 billion. For more information, please contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.