Coalition Letter: Urging Representatives to co-sponsor the “Highway Restoration Act of 2017,” HR 2391

Andrew Roth  |   July 14, 2017

Open Letter to the House of Representatives: End Wasteful Mass Transit Account

 

July 14, 2017

Dear Representatives:

 

We the undersigned organizations, representing millions of Americans, urge you to co-sponsor the “Highway Restoration Act of 2017,” HR 2391, introduced by Representative Mark Sanford (R-SC). This legislation would phase out the Highway Trust Fund’s Mass Transit Account, ending this ongoing misuse of federal gas tax dollars and creating a more sustainable path for the Highway Trust Fund.

 

The Highway Trust Fund receives a majority of its funding from taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, rooted in a user-pay assumption that these revenues will be used for federal highway construction and maintenance. The Mass Transit Account violates this model by diverting billions of dollars to fund everything from street cars to light rail systems. Indeed, the Mass Transit Account represents the second-largest expenditure from the Highway Trust Fund, just after the Highway Account. These largely local, municipally controlled systems subsidize the activities of users who don’t pay into the underlying fund.

 

With the Highway Trust Fund facing increasing shortfalls and creating a growing drain on already-stretched general revenues, Congress needs to rethink its approach to highway funding. The best place to start is by eliminating this wasteful federal subsidy for local mass transit projects. HR 2391 could save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and restore solvency to the Highway Trust Fund. We urge all Representatives to cosponsor the “Highway Restoration Act of 2017.”

 

Sincerely,

Brandon Arnold, Executive Vice President

National Taxpayers Union

 

Lisa B. Nelson, CEO

ALEC Action

 

Phil Kerpen, President

American Commitment

 

Dan Schneider, Executive Director

American Conservative Union

 

Norm Singleton, President

Campaign for Liberty

 

Andrew F. Quinlan, President

Center for Freedom and Prosperity

 

Jeffrey Mazzella, President

Center for Individual Freedom

 

David McIntosh, President

Club for Growth

Jonathan Bydlak, President

Coalition to Reduce Spending

 

Tom Schatz, President

Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

 

Mark Scribner, Senior Fellow

Competitive Enterprise Institute

 

Adam Brandon, President

FreedomWorks

 

Heather R. Higgins, President and CEO

Independent Women’s Voice

 

David Williams, President

Taxpayers Protection Alliance

 

Judson Phillips, Founder

Tea Party Nation