The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE ROAD USER CHARGE ADVANCEMENT ACT OF 2021
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HON. EARL BLUMENAUER
of oregon
in the house of representatives
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today I introduced the Road User Charge Advancement Act of 2021. This legislation passed the House last session in Section 5401 of the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2, 116th Cong.) and builds on the successful Surface Transportation Systems Funding Alternatives (STSFA) program to further enhance national understanding and competencies in collecting a road user charge.
Increased vehicle fuel efficiency and a stagnant federal gas tax have encouraged increased demand on our transportation system without proportionally contributing to necessary maintenance and investment. In just a few years, the United States will no longer be able to finance our transportation system based on gallons of fuel consumed. Surface transportation faces significant funding challenges which have only deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal gas tax, unchanged since 1993, has lost more than 71 percent of its purchasing power due to inflation and fuel efficiency gains. As a result, Congress has transferred more than $153 billion in general fund revenues to prop up the Highway Trust Fund since 2008. Without new sources of revenue, or increasing existing sources, the total Highway Trust Fund shortfall is projected to reach nearly $190 billion in the next 10 years.
Two national transportation study commissions, authorized in 2005, named a road usage charge based on vehicle miles travelled (VMT) as the most promising revenue alternative to the gas tax and the ``consensus choice'' for the future. Since then, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming have operated or are operating pilot projects where drivers are charged for miles traveled as part of the STSFA program.
The Road User Charge Advancement Act of 2021 would reauthorize the STSFA program through Fiscal Year 2025, increase the authorization amount to $35 million, and reduce the state match requirement to incentivize more states to participate. The legislation also includes annual reporting requirements to provide more frequent knowledge-
sharing opportunities and provides special consideration for states that are collecting revenues in their pilots.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to advance this legislation as part of a surface transportation reauthorization package and provide communities with longterm funding certainty to meet their infrastructure needs.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 12
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