Amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to Restore the Highway Trust Fund Balance

AMENDING THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986 TO RESTORE THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND BALANCE -- (House of Representatives - July 23, 2008)

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Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6532, a bill that will restore funding to the highway trust fund and ensure that the flow of Federal highway funds is not interrupted at the height of the construction season.

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, if this problem is not fixed, States could lose up to $14 billion in highway funding resulting in approximately 380,000 jobs lost.

At a time when our economy continues to struggle, we simply cannot afford to cut Federal funding for highway projects. Earlier this year when we were debating the economic stimulus package, some said we were simply borrowing money from the Chinese to purchase Chinese products. This bill ensures that we are investing in our own transportation infrastructure, giving income to American workers and improving America in the process.

It is also important to note that we are restoring funds to the highway trust fund that were transferred out of the fund 10 years ago. In other words, this is money that was supposed to be in the highway trust fund in the first place. We are not robbing the general fund, we are simply restoring money that was never supposed to be in the general fund.

In 1998, Congress determined that the balances of the highway trust fund were too high and transferred $8 billion out of the trust fund and into the general fund. This bill returns those gas tax revenues to the highway trust fund to ensure that it does not become insolvent.

Madam Speaker, I always rank in the top 10 or 15 most fiscally conservative Members of Congress, but there are some things that we need to do, and a first class national system of transportation is vital to our national economy. I urge support for this bill.

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