It's Time to Shift Gears
WE SUPPORT the continuation of the existing federal motor fuel tax, provided significant program reforms and innovative financing methods are made fully available to states.
The current method of financing the Federal program primarily through federal motor fuel taxes is not sustainable and will not address current and future transportation needs. The federal government should explore alternative federal financing methods.
Prior to considering any increase in Federal motor fuel taxes, the Federal government should encourage and enable States to employ business strategies and innovative finance techniques that help meet transportation goals. These may include tolling, congestion pricing, HOT lanes, vehicle miles traveled pricing and the full range of other public private partnership mechanisms to bring additional resources to solving transportation issues.
We support shifting the focus away from states' individual returns on the federal program in exchange for achieving the broader goals of significant program reform and full availability of alternative financing methods.
In order to focus on reform and innovation, states need assurance that they will have financial stability under any significantly reformed new program. Assuming that federal motor fuel taxes continue to exist at current levels, we support ensuring that each State receives no less than the percentage of its core highway funding received in FY 09, as compared to the total core highway funding distributed to all states in any given year of a future authorization.