Congressman Lowenthal Comments On Need For Highway Trust Fund

This week, I voted for a bill to refund the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).  This bill is only a short term fix to keep the fund from becoming insolvent in coming months; Going forward, Congress must do the hard work of developing a sustainable funding source for our nation's transportation infrastructure.

As you may know, all gasoline sold in the United States includes a flat federal tax of 33.4 cents per gallon. The funds from this tax go directly to the HTF, which pays for road and transit projects across the country.

The HTF has been severely underfunded for years, preventing our nation from taking the necessary steps to invest in our critical infrastructure.

I believe that regular and effective maintenance of our nation's transportation infrastructure is absolutely essential to our economy and ensuring the regular flow of passengers and freight across our country.

Infrastructure improvement has always been one of my top priorities. As Chair of the California Senate Transportation Committee, I had the chance to oversee and implement improvements across our entire state. In the U.S. House of Representatives, I continue to work to ensure that we maintain our nation's transportation infrastructure.

The HTF is how we built most of the Interstate Highway system and many of the major roads and bridges throughout the nation. That system is crumbling after years of neglect. Just as we need to modernize our infrastructure system, we also need to modernize the way we fund it. The bill we passed this week is not enough.  I will be working on a sustainable transportation infrastructure program to protect the system that drives our nation's economic engine.