Draft Op-ed for Highway Funding Campaign

Highway Budget Cuts Will Be A Severe Blow to
Economic Recovery

By __________(insert name)

The news couldn't have come at a worse time. After months of recession, growing unemployment, and lingering fears from the September 11th terrorist attacks, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that next year's federal highway program would be slashed by $8.6 billion — 27 percent less than this year's levels.

"For states, the losses are nothing short of calamitous," warned William D. Fay, president and CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance at a Senate hearing. "Funding cuts of this magnitude will result in more lost jobs, imposing financial burdens on tens of thousands of Americans and their families."

What does that mean to __________ (state)? Right off the bat, it means delays in projects that have been on the drawing boards for years and a reduction in jobs at a time our nation needs to increase employment. Every billion in federal highway funding accounts for 42,100 jobs, most of them high-paying. The cuts will cause job losses at highway construction sites and businesses that supply construction, but also at small Main Street businesses where construction workers spend their pay. And, as unemployment climbs, there will be less revenue to support the tax base of local communities.

It also means delays in reaping the benefits of roadway improvements: the safety benefits of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities; the air quality, time-saving, and fuel-saving benefits of relieving traffic congestion; and the economic and productivity benefits of speedier deliveries. These benefits are the primary reasons that fuel taxes are the taxes that Americans pay most willingly.

The federal funding cut is the result of a complex calculation formula that was intended to better match highway tax receipts with investment levels. But here's the rub: the formula has resulted in a growing surplus in the Highway Trust Fund — a surplus that now exceeds $19 billion! These are taxes that have already been collected from America's motorists and truckers. The $19 billion is sitting there in Washington, DC, collecting dust!

Problem solved, right? Congress should just take some of the $19 billion surplus that's sitting in the trust fund to make up the loss in funding. Unfortunately, we're talking about Washington, DC — nothing is that simple.

Fortunately, that's exactly the conclusion a growing number of Senators and Representatives have reached. With strong support from governors, highway users, and labor groups, they've introduced the Highway Funding Restoration Act, legislation that would raise federal highway spending to nearly $28 billion, roughly the amount of federal fuel taxes that will be collected this year. The fuel taxes are paid by motorists and truckers for roadway improvements, and they should be used for their intended purpose.

Now, the Good News . . .

The documentary evidence is undeniable: Fuel taxes already collected from motorists and truckers and sitting in the Highway Trust Fund are available to remedy the funding shortfall. Roadway investments save lives by preventing crashes. They also create jobs, stimulate the economy, clean the air, and speed commutes and product deliveries by reducing traffic congestion. President Bush has said that his economic policy can be summed up in one word: jobs!

That evidence presents a pretty strong case to enact the Highway Funding Restoration Act! American motorists and truckers pay taxes for road and bridge improvements, and they should get what they're paying for. Congress should act now to make the investments needed to ensure a safe and efficient national highway system.

Other messages (Select and substitute for other paragraphs depending on the Op-ed length allowed by the publication):

The Cost of Losing One's Job to Families and Society. Funding cuts of this magnitude will result in lost jobs, perhaps hundreds of thousands of jobs over time. Far too many of those jobs will be lost before the fiscal year even begins as contractors begin laying off workers in anticipation of the project delays that will inevitably follow. These are high-paying jobs that induce many other jobs. Such dramatic changes in employment would increase the call of federal unemployment compensation funds and other social programs, as well as cut the flow of tax dollars from those affected families and individuals. In 1984, Congress' Joint Economic Committee released a study of the social effects of losing one's job. It paints a dire picture of personal financial hardships, loss of health insurance, and rising mortality, divorce, criminal activity, and suicide. Quoting from that study, "The longer [joblessness] endures, the more likely it becomes that frustrations will be vented on the family — or on the rest of society."

The Life-Saving, Time-Saving, Fuel-Saving, Economic and Environmental Benefits of Road Investments. A 27 percent reduction in funds will delay the important benefits of roadway improvements — the safety benefits of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities; the air quality, time-saving, and fuel-saving benefits of relieving traffic congestion; the economic and productivity benefits of speedier deliveries. But those benefits are only realized if their tax dollars are used as intended.

In 1999, The Highway Users published a study identifying the worst traffic bottlenecks in the country and the benefits that could be realized by improving traffic flow at those sites. Unclogging America's Arteries: Prescriptions for Healthier Highways showed that very modest traffic flow improvements at each of our 167 worst bottlenecks would result in 287,000 fewer crashes over 20 years, including 1,150 fewer fatalities and 141,000 fewer injuries; they would reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 45 percent and volatile organic compound emissions by 44 percent, while carbon dioxide emissions would fall by 71 percent at those sites; they would slash fuel consumption by nearly 20 billion gallons; and of course, they would reduce travel time by an average of 19 minutes per trip. With polls showing that time management is one of the greatest challenges facing American families today — 38 minutes less for a commuter driving to and from work represents more time for family, work, errands, and recreation. That's an example of the "big bang for the buck" that this program has the potential to deliver, but too little funding will delay these large, critically important projects for years. That's why this debate over 2003 funding is so important to us.

$19 Billion in Motorist Taxes Just Sitting in Washington. America's highway users have a strong case to make for additional highway funding above the guaranteed amount. Unlike funding claims from other interest groups: the money for highways has already been collected. According to the Administration's budget, the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund will have a cash balance of more than $19 billion at the end of this fiscal year. All of today's cash balance — every dime — is money previously paid by motorists and intended for improvements to our nation's roads and bridges. If Congress were to increase the 2003 obligation limitation by a full $8.6 billion to bring us up to this year's level, the cash balance in the Highway Account would only be reduced by approximately $2.3 billion in FY 2003. That would leave more than $15 billion in the account as you consider funding levels and other issues in the reauthorization legislation.

Before TEA21, interest was accrued on surpluses in the Highway Trust Fund. This interest was ridiculed by some members of Congress as "funny money" that wasn't really owed to highway users. As a condition for establishing a link between revenues and investments, TEA21's framers agreed to eliminate all but $8 billion of the previously existing cash balance in the Highway Account and to stop any further interest payments to the account. As a result, since TEA21's enactment, not one penny of that $8 billion or subsequent additions to the trust fund surplus is attributable to interest payment transfers from the General Fund.