Transportation Spending is Out of Control

Let's Take a Look at Major Problems with Current Transportation Spending Practices

Amtrak

The nationwide rail service received $1.4 billion in subsidies in FY 2013. Yet Amtrak consistently loses money due to mismanagement and routes that serve few passengers. Taxpayers were found to be footing the bill for a $72 million loss on food and beverage service in 2013 - because the railway was providing free wine and champagne on long distance routes.

The Highway Trust Fund is set to run dry in the coming weeks. Instead of raising taxes and fees, Congress should consider common-sense reform and eliminate wasteful spending. Let's return the responsibility for local projects to the states. This would save billions of dollars and lead to better roads and bridges.
Click here for the full list. But here are some of the highlights of current transportation spending practices:

1

Transit Favored Over Highways

Driving costs about 22 cents per passenger mile, while transit costs a whopping 90 cents per passenger mile, 70 cents of which is subsidized by taxpayers.

2

Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP)

3

Congress mandates that 2% of gas tax refunds that states receive must be set aside for bike and walking paths -  obviously inherently local projects. In FY 2014, TAP amounted to $819 million. TAP also funded $67 million worth of ferry boats in FY 2013.

Dear House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden:

 

With the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) on track to run out this summer, Congress is poised to consider a transportation spending measure. On behalf of our organizations and the millions of people we represent, we encourage you to seek ways to protect taxpayers and empower the states by reforming transportation spending. Please consider the following principles as you consider transportation legislation:

 

• Oppose increases in federal fuel taxes or fees. Transportation funding should be reformed on the spending side, not the revenue side. Until Congress takes steps to reduce wasteful spending, it is not fair to ask motorists, truckers, and bus operators for another dime on top of the billions they already pay every year. Similarly, non-germane policy changes like Postal Service savings and corporate tax holidays do nothing to

correct the systemic problems with current transportation spending.

 

• Move funding responsibility for non-road programs to the General Fund. So long as there is a federal role in surface transportation, federal fuel tax revenue should be used to fund federal road and bridge priorities—namely, the interstate highway system—as it was originally

intended to do. Congress should reject efforts to allocate these funds to parochial projects that do not benefit the motorists and truckers who pay them.

 

• Return control of non-federal priorities to the states. States, localities, and the private sector know their needs best and should have more control over addressing them. Congress should allow them the flexibility to fund and manage transportation projects within their borders,

especially those that are truly local in nature. Current federal barriers to state-based funding and financing should be removed.

 

• Reduce regulation that increases project costs and delays transportation projects. Reducing or repealing bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles such as the Davis-Bacon requirement, lengthy and often duplicative environmental impact studies, and highway beautification initiatives would help reduce construction time and save millions of dollars that could go toward road and bridge improvement, helping to alleviate the congestion that plagues America’s highways.

 

• Consider transportation spending in standalone legislation. Transportation legislation should not be tied into a larger spending package. Recent omnibus spending bills have been rife with waste and pet project procurements. Standalone transportation legislation will help keep spending levels in check and provide crucial transparency.

 

• Consider transportation spending outside of a “lameduck” session. Legislation to extend surface transportation programs should be considered before the November election. Retiring and outgoing legislators should not be voting on significant legislation because they are less accountable to their constituents.

 

Congress must act responsibly in any surface transportation program extension measure. We urge you to keep these

principles in mind, and we look forward to working with you and your colleagues.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brent Gardner, Director of Federal Affairs

Americans for Prosperity

 

Phil Kerpen, President

American Commitment

 

Larry Hart, Director of Government Relations

American Conservative Union

 

Dee Stewart, President

Americans for a Balanced Budget

 

Grover Norquist, President

Americans for Tax Reform

 

Brian Garst, Director of Government Affairs

Center for Freedom and Prosperity

 

Chris Chocola, President

Club for Growth

 

Tom Brinkman Jr., Chairman

Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)

 

Marc Scribner, Fellow, Center for Technology and Innovation

Competitive Enterprise Institute

 

Mattie Duppler, Executive Director

Cost of Government Center

 

Matt Kibbe, President and CEO

FreedomWorks

 

Seton Motley, President

Less Government

 

Pete Sepp, Executive Vice President

National Taxpayers Union

 

Andrew Moylan, Executive Director and Senior Fellow

R Street Institute

 

Paul Gessing, President

Rio Grande Foundation

 

David Williams, President

Taxpayers Protection Alliance

 

Judson Phillips, Founder

Tea Party Nation