Washington, DC

Thursday, December 02, 2010

APTA Commends National Deficit Commission Recommendation to Phase in 15 Cent Gas Tax Increase for Transportation Investment



Statement by American Public Transportation Association President William Millar



"On behalf of the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) 1,500 members, I commend Chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson for including in their recommendations to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposals to support the critical need to preserve and improve the nation's surface transportation network, which includes public transportation systems, highways, and bridges.

APTA strongly supports the proposal to phase-in a 15 cents federal motor fuels tax increase. Adequate investment in the nation's integrated transportation system, at the state, local, and federal level, is the underpinning for the nation's future economic growth. Failure to restore the declining purchasing power of the federal user fee that helps to address the nation's basic infrastructure needs is likely to undermine economic recovery and result in either more deficit spending to fund essential investments or defer necessary preservation and improvements that will only impose greater costs on future generations.

The infrastructure investment recommendations of the co-chairs proposal is consistent with the recommendations of two earlier independent, bipartisan commissions established by Congress in the last major transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU. Both the National Surface Policy and Revenue Study Commission (NSTPRSC) and the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission (NSTIFC) recommended increased federal investment in transportation infrastructure and an increase in the federal motor fuel fee. The NSTPRSC recommended an increase of 25 to 40 cents-per-gallon. The NSTIFC recommended an increase of 10 cents-per-gallon. Both commissions analyzed this problem and their recommendations recognized that while leverage and public private partnerships are useful financing tools for infrastructure projects, they are not a substitute for core federal investment. The NSTPRSC, the NSTIFC and now the leaders of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform all recognized the need to provide the kind of predictable funding needed to advance major transportation infrastructure projects that often take years to plan, design and build.

While APTA strongly supports the co-chair's recommendations, we note that a portion of the federal transit program and the highway safety program have historically been funded with general funds. Those programs are important elements of both the public transportation capital program and highway safety and must continue to be fully funded.

Finally, the proposed increase in the federal motor fuels tax should have another immediate and tangible result, by allowing the Congress to move forward with a long-term reauthorization of the surface transportation program that provides the resources and policy reforms necessary."



The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne passenger services, and high-speed rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems.

Virginia Miller

Senior Manager-Media Relations

American Public Transportation Association

Washington, DC

202-496-4816