Title: Congress Can Fix the Highway Trust Fund Without Raising the Gas Tax | Economic Intelligence | US News
Headings: The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken
Congress can fix highway funding without raising the gas tax.
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Content: For example, the administration could save $2.4 billion if the Highway Safety Improvement Program were eliminated and each state were permitted to decide how much of its own money to spend on safety improvement. The goal of the safety improvement program is to provide funds to help state and local governments achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. To receive funds, each state must create and update a Strategic Highway Safety Plan on an annual basis – and each state must collect data measuring the safety of its public roads. Each state also has an incentive to make its roads safer to benefit its residents and to attract tourists. If the Federal Highway Administration provides funds for safety, the federal government must decide how to divide the money between states. They also establish priorities specifying how states must spend the money. Different states, even if they have similar highway mileage, may have very different safety problems. Thus each state could make a better decision on its own about how much to spend to improve safety and about priorities. [
SEE: Political Cartoons on the Economy ]
The impact of federal priorities on Highway Safety Improvement Program spending is illustrated by the Railway-Highways grade crossing program.