Looking for money to fund road repairs and replacements

Looking for money to fund road repairs and replacements

The chairman of the Senate transportation committee said at a hearing last week that he doesnt foresee Congress finding money to plug the gap in spending for roads and other infrastructure, reports The Hill.

The problem is that the gas tax just doesnt raise enough money, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Federal funding programs, like the Highway Trust Fund, are supported by pay-fors, such as the federal gas tax, which, due to decreasing miles driven and increasing fuel efficiency, annually fall far short of funding needs, he said, according to The Hill.

The last bill for transportation projects was passed in 2012 and expires in September 2014. It was $20 billion short, and the money was made up by raiding other funds. Rockefeller suggested looking at sources such as pension funds and equity funds.

Sadly, we have [become] accustomed to an ad hoc, piecemeal approach to funding the nations infrastructure, spending the bare minimum in order to keep our transportation network functioning, Rockefeller said.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has a funding idea: Replace the gas tax with a fee paid by oil wholesalers, as she said Maryland and Virginia have done.