House lawmakers push for fix of Highway Trust Fund
More than 250 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from both parties want to see a fix for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) included in any tax reform package this year, The Hill reports. Lawmakers wrote a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, urging it to come up with a long-term funding solution for the fund.
Photo: cliff1066™ / photo on flickr
The Highway Trust Fund is financed by federal fuel taxes that haven’t been raised in more than 20 years.
“As the Committee on Ways and Means continues to work toward a much-needed update of the U.S. tax code, you have an opportunity to fix the Highway Trust Fund,” the lawmakers say. “If states are unable to rely on timely reimbursements from the HTF for performed work, projects will be halted, improvements to road safety and congestion relief will be jeopardized, and America’s infrastructure will fall further behind the rest of the world.”
The fund is expected to face a shortfall in 2020 when its current funding expires, The Hill adds. Some of the funding ideas include charging fees based on the number of miles a vehicle travels, raising the gas tax, and increasing existing sales and tire taxes.
About the Author: Allison Kral
Allison Kral is the former senior digital media manager for North Coast Media (NCM). She completed her undergraduate degree at Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She works across a number of digital platforms, which include creating e-newsletters, writing articles and posting across social media sites. She also creates content for NCM's Portable Plants magazine, GPS World magazine and Geospatial Solutions. Her understanding of the ever-changing digital media world allows her to quickly grasp what a target audience desires and create content that is appealing and relevant for any client across any platform.Subscribe to Pit & Quarry
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