Senate Hearing Focuses on Highway Trust Fund

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing examining the pending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund.  At the hearing, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reaffirmed previous projections that the Highway Trust Fund will face insolvency this summer and will be in need of nearly $100 billion over the next six years.  The committee is currently looking at both short- and long-term transportation funding options to fill the CBO projected revenue gaps in the Highway Trust Fund. Both Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Ranking Republican Member Orrin Hatch (Utah) acknowledged that that the impending shortfall of the Highway Trust Fund must be addressed soon.  However, the question of how large a funding patch and where the additional revenue would be found remain to be answered.  Chairman Wyden said that just to maintain solvency this calendar year Congress will have to find an additional $10 billion in funding, with another $8 billion needed to fund the remainder of fiscal year 2015. However, he did not offer any suggestions as to how he would recommend the committee fill that short-term hole. Beyond the need for the cash infusion, the committee is looking for a longer-term funding agreement that would allow for a multi-year reauthorization of MAP-21.  At Tuesday’s hearing, Wyden said it would likely take a combination of different funding and financing measures. AGC is encouraged that the Republicans and Democrats on the Finance Committee have acknowledged that something needs to be done to address the revenue gaps in the Highway Trust Fund – AGC will continue to advocate for a long-term funding solution that would allow for a multi-year reauthorization of MAP-21 through our Hardhats for Highways grassroots campaign. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.