Shuster Says Surplus Should Stop Budget Raids
on Transportation
Trust Funds
NEW CBO ESTIMATES SHOW AIR 21 WILL NOT REDUCE TAX RELIEF PLAN
WASHINGTON – Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster today said that new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) surplus projections should put an end to the federal government’s annual raids on transportation-related trust funds. Shuster said that as a result of the surplus, there will no longer be a need for the federal government to tap into the transportation-related trust fund balances to cover short falls in other federal spending.
"I have always felt that it is dishonest to ask taxpayers to pay a dedicated tax, such as the federal gas tax or the aviation ticket tax, and then not invest the money for its intended purposes, such as improving our highways or aviation systems," Shuster said. "It was wrong to do it in times of budget deficits and it is incomprehensible to do it in times of budget surpluses."
Shuster said that it has been a common federal practice to keep transportation spending low so transportation-related trust funds accumulate fat balances. These balances are then used to mask the size of the deficit or, through smoke-and-mirrors budget gimmickry, to finance other programs or general tax cuts.
huster also said that the projected surplus means that the recently House-passed Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR 21) will not reduce the Republican tax relief plan agreed to in the budget resolution.
Under previous CBO scoring, AIR 21 would have reduced the 10-year $778 billion tax relief plan by less than two percent, or $14.3 billion, because the tax relief plan would have stolen $14.3 billion from the Aviation Trust Fund to fund the tax cut. Now, with CBO projecting an additional $180 billion more than their earlier estimate, Shuster said the tax relief plan could be even larger than planned without raiding the Aviation Trust Fund, thus allowing AIR 21 to maintain its full funding level.
"We now have a golden opportunity for Congress to get its fiscal house in order," Shuster said. "With these surpluses, we can put an end to the stealing of trust fund dollars and renew the faith of the American people."