Letter to the Editor: Fund the Highways

egardless of who is to blame, Congress dropped the ball by failing to reauthorize the federal surface transportation program.

In terms of guaranteed funding, the last number on the table, $284 billion, is simply not enough to get the votes needed for passage. Minimum allocation states (including Maryland) deserve better than a 90.5% return in highway funding relative to fuel taxes paid to the federal government, which is what we now get. Under the $284 billion compromise, the minimum would have risen to 92.2%.

Consider from where this money for boosting the minimum allocation to states would come. Under the $284 billion compromise, the only place it could come from is the states that get back more than 100% of what they pay in taxes — and you can bet they’re not going to let that happen. The Senate bill, at $301 billion, contained enough money to handle the political issues and to get a start on building and updating our surface transportation infrastructure.

Brian Holmes

I>Executive Director

aryland Highway Contractors Association

len Burnie, Md.

This letter appeared in the Dec. 20 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.