Dear Member of Congress:
On behalf of the362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to support the“State Transportation Flexibility Act.” Introduced as H.R. 1585 by Rep.Lankford (R-OK) and as S. 1446 by Sen. Coburn (R-OK), this legislation wouldallow states, who better understand their areas’ transportation andinfrastructure needs, to manage their Highway Tax revenues without federalinterference.
In 1956 thefederal government began constructing the Interstate Highway system with a goalof connecting all major metropolitan areas with a network of high-speed roads.To fund the system, Congress established gasoline and other transportationrelated taxes around the principle of “users-pay/users-benefit.” Over time,however, Congress began to stray from this principle, starting with funding forbus lanes and park-and-ride lots and ultimately, bike paths and historicpreservation. Congress also used its leverage over highway funds to force stateadherence to costly mandates and other top-down regulations that increasedinfrastructure costs.
To cut through this inefficientand inequitable system, the State Highway Flexibility Act would allow states toopt out of the Federal Highway program, thus devolving taxing authority anddecision-making to the states. This approach would end the inefficientpolitical allocation of federal dollars by allowing state and local planners todetermine how money will be spent. The opt-out provision would also diminishCongress’ ability to engage in fiscal pressure tactics that compel states to complywith an array of extraneous regulations. These mandates, such as theDavis-Bacon Act, needlessly drive up the cost of transportation projects andwaste precious tax dollars.
State transportationbureaucracies are not necessarily paragons of fiscal virtue. Nonetheless, theconcepts embodied in H.R. 1585 and S. 1446 have better promise of deliveringvalue to taxpaying motorists. For one, state and local elected officials – andthe agencies they are supposed to oversee – tend to be more proximate to thecitizens they serve. Furthermore, those same citizens could take a greaterinterest in improving transportation efficiency, knowing that their dollarswould be spent closer to home. Meanwhile, state and local planners would havemuch more freedom to innovate, creating the potential for a cross-pollinationof ideas that could benefit infrastructure throughout the country
The State TransportationFlexibility Act makes important contributions toward the kind of modern,efficient, and cost-conscious transportation system that will be needed forsustained economic growth. Given that this legislation is focused on providingflexibility to the states, NTU would have preferred that the bill not requirestates to use a portion of their tax receipts for approved mass transitprojects. Nevertheless, NTU applauds the introduction of the State TransportationFlexibility Act and we encourage all Members of Congress to work for itspassage.
Sincerely,
Brandon GreifeFederalGovernment Affairs Manager