releases: http://renacci.house.gov/index.cfm/weekly-column?ContentRecord_id=1C8B4E2A-FDF6-4A4B-A890-6723E8FF88B4
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://renacci.house.gov/index.cfm/weekly-column?ContentRecord_id=1C8B4E2A-FDF6-4A4B-A890-6723E8FF88B4 | Renacci Report: We Must Invest In Our Vital Infrastructure | 2014-12-11 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | OH | Jim Renacci | R000586 | renacci.house.gov | legacy | Last year, Ohio’s deteriorating roads cost drivers over $1.6 million in repairs and operating costs, or about $212 per driver. Subpar and sometimes dangerous road conditions are not isolated to Ohio - they’re quickly becoming a widespread problem throughout the country. Unless action is taken to reinvest in our failing infrastructure, the long-term cost to our economy and the taxpayers will be devastating. Maintenance of our highway system falls jointly on the states and the federal government, with about 80 percent of highway funding coming from the federally administered Highway Trust Fund. Currently, the Trust Fund allocates about $50 billion annually to the states for upkeep of the system. This annual allotment has two major problems: we’re spending more money than the Trust Fund is bringing in, and we’re not spending enough to keep our infrastructure from crumbling. The funding situation for the Highway Trust Fund became dire earlier this year when Congress was forced to act to temporarily infuse the Fund with money from other sources. This temporary infusion simply kicks the can down the road, only sustaining the Fund until May of 2015, when we will again have to act to ensure it remains solvent. Funding for the Highway Trust Fund comes from several sources designed as user-fees, including fees on large vehicles and various fuels. The goal of this structure is to ensure that those who receive the benefits of the highway system are also the ones who pay to maintain it. The most well-known funding mechanism is the federal “gas tax.” Originally implemented at just 1 cent per gallon in 1932, it was last increased in 1993 from 14.1 to 18.4 cents per gallon. However, it is a dwindling funding source for many reasons. First, because it isn’t indexed, the tax only buys about 63 percent of the materials and labor it did per dollar in 1993. Second, as vehicles become more and more efficient, or switch to alternative fuel sources, the gas tax collects less and less money per mile driven. These factors have contributed significantly to the looming insolvency of the Trust Fund. For all of these reasons, the Highway Trust Fund is threatened and in desperate need of modernization. That is why I am working to provide long-term certainty and predictability to our highway funding system. If we want to make progress on improving our infrastructure, Congress must ensure construction companies, states, municipalities, and towns have the confidence they need to plan, invest, and hire for multi-year projects. To this end, I have been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop solutions within a framework we can all agree on. This framework requires any proposal to provide immediate and guaranteed funding for the Highway Trust Fund for a minimum of the next six years, with a goal of at least ten years. This is absolutely critical to any successful proposal because it will provide the certainty we need to move forward with major construction projects. Next, we must ensure that even after this initial six to ten year funding period, a permanent solution to funding the Trust Fund is in place. Finally, the framework would set into motion a plan that continues the original intent of the Trust Fund’s funding mechanisms; all users of our highway system bear the responsibility of keeping it safe and modern. This guiding principle would ensure highly efficient or alternatively fueled vehicles, which currently utilize the highways without helping to maintain them, join in to appropriately maintain the Trust Fund. In the coming weeks and months, I will work toward a viable solution for long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. In working with my friends on both sides of the aisle, as well as soliciting input from a range of stakeholders throughout Ohio’s 16th District and the rest of the country, I believe we can restore America’s infrastructure to the shining example that it once was. All solutions for achieving this goal must be on the table and thoroughly examined and all parties must be willing to compromise if we expect to make real progress. America’s infrastructure is too important to allow it to deteriorate any further. We must act now to ensure our highway system is sustainable. Jobs, the economy, and the American people depend on it. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |