were lumped together into a unified budget, subjecting highway
and other trust funds to the same budgetary rigors as other
government spending, Congress reaffirmed the original promise of the
Federal-aid Highway Act of 1956 — that highway taxes ought to be
dedicated to highway improvements. A hard-fought provision of TEA21
ties annual highway construction and safety funding to the tax
receipts deposited in the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund.
For the first time in almost 30 years, motorists can be assured that
the federal taxes they pay at the gas pump will be used for road,
bridge, or transit improvements rather than financing other
government programs or reducing the federal debt.
Based on current projections of annual highway tax receipts,
TEA21 should provide at least $166 billion in "guaranteed" funding
for the federal highway program over its six year-life and an
additional $2 billion for highway safety programs, such as drunk
driving enforcement and seatbelt use campaigns. Those amounts may
rise or fall depending on whether actual tax receipts are higher or
lower than current projections. For example, in fiscal year 2001,
highway appropriations are nearly $3 billion more than projected by
TEA21 because of higher than expected fuel tax receipts.
The
highway funding guarantee was bitterly opposed by some budget hawks
and congressional appropriators who complained that it would tie
appropriators hands and put added budgetary pressure on other
federal programs (presumably because those programs would otherwise
be funded, in part, with highway tax revenues). Lobbying for the
funding guarantee involved the coordinated efforts of motorists and
truckers, industry, labor, and public officials. Most significantly,
the nation's governors actively supported the funding guarantee and
promoted it in contacts with members of their congressional
delegations.
Some leading appropriators continue to oppose the funding
guarantee for highways and may attempt to undermine the guarantee it
during each year's congressional budgetary cycle.
For that reason, we need your help. Click here to
"cyber-lobby" your member of Congress by sending your Senators and
Representative an e-mail supporting safer, less congested
highways!
