As the House and Senate begin discussions on how to deal with the May 31 expiration of the current transportation authorization, two bipartisan bills are emerging that seek to end the cycle of short-term bailouts of the Highway Trust Fund and set a path for a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.
In the House, Representatives Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), Reid Ribble (R-Wisc.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), along with ten of their colleagues, introduced the Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act. The AGC-supported billcalls for an immediate indexation of the gas and diesel user fees - providing level funding for federal highway and transit investments for nearly two years. In order to address the long-term Highway Trust Fund challenges, the bill establishes a bipartisan, bicameral “Transportation Commission” that would be charged with determining a path towards sustainable trust fund revenue. If the commission fails to make any recommendations or Congress fails to act on their recommendation, the gas and diesel user fees will be increased to a level that would sustain the trust fund for a three-year period. Following this three-year funding period, if Congress fails to once again fix the Highway Trust Fund, then the gas and diesel users fees would increase to meet the next five-year Highway Trust Fund shortfall, guaranteeing ten years of funding.
In the Senate, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) are planning to introduce a bill that would establish a 6.5 percent tax rate on repatriated offshore earnings, which could be a funding mechanism for a long-term highway bill. The repatriation “holiday” is essentially a temporary reduced repatriation tax rate that creates an incentive for corporations to bring their overseas income back to the United States. The proposal requires the tax to be paid into the Highway Trust Fund, but it has some limitations. It would only apply to repatriations above the companies repatriations in recent years, and it would prohibit the repatriated income from funding increased dividends, share buybacks, or increased executive compensation. In addition, companies that make use of the “holiday” and invert within the next ten years would have to repay the tax incentive from the “holiday” with interest.
Although neither of these proposals are not perfect, AGC appreciates the leadership and looks forward to working with Congress to pass a well-funded multi-year surface transportation bill.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892. Return to Top