Testimony Urges Congress to Consider a Fundamental New Approach to Funding

Jul. 28, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Today, the co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee urging Members to consider a fundamental new approach to transportation funding that is user-based, sustainable and tied to system use. The way in which transportation revenue is raised and the extent to which system costs are transparent has direct effects on both the performance of the system and the level of total investment needed. NTPP’s testimony details recommendations of its recently released report, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy. The report presents a vision and framework for comprehensive transportation policy reform. NTPP is led by its co-chairs, former Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer, former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, former Senator Slade Gorton and former Congressman Martin Sabo.

In response to the Ways and Means Subcommittee’s hearing entitled, “Long-Term Financing Options for the Highway Trust Fund,” NTPP urged policy makers to ensure that system costs are transparent to system users, stating that if costs were accurately priced it would affect users’ decisions about a range of issues including: where to live, when to commute, and what type of vehicle to drive.

The testimony submitted to the Ways and Means Subcommittee details how principles for transportation finance can be integrated into transportation legislation. The testimony is guided by two core facts, first, current revenue is insufficient to maintain or improve system performance, and second, public revenue collection can enhance the performance of the system when users understand and more directly bear the full costs of the infrastructure they use.

The NTPP report makes clear that immediate action can be taken to help establish funding mechanisms that begin to establish links between revenue collection and system use. NTPP’s report also proposes more manageable funding programs that are competitive and performance-based, and recommends "mode-neutral" formula programs that award federal transportation dollars based on system condition and performance.

NTPP believes that its report provides a strong statement by a diverse and bipartisan group of transportation experts and business and civic leaders about the need for fundamental reform through a performance-based transportation system. Its members welcome the opportunity to work with and support the Ways and Means Committee going forward, and encourage the Committee to draw upon NTPP’s recommendations to further define financing mechanisms for our nation’s transportation system. The effort to fundamentally change the way U.S. transportation is funded is not only well-justified by the large benefits that could be achieved, but is necessary given the growing challenges to our economic, energy, and environmental future.

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National Transportation Policy Project