According to the CBO, starting in 2015 the Highway Trust Fund will not have the money to meet all of its obligations which will result in steadily accumulating shortfalls. Since 2008, Congress has dipped into the General Fund to avoid such shortfalls. So far $41 billion has been transferred into the Highway Trust Fund and an additional $14 billion would be needed to prevent shortfalls in 2015.
But dipping into the General Fund means competing for funding with everyone else who needs to dip into the General Fund. Rather than that, John urges contractors to contact their representatives, forward them the CBO report and reiterate the job losses, traffic congestion and projects that won’t get started unless they take action.
A few things lawmakers could do to address the shortfall on the horizon include reducing spending for surface transportation program, boosting revenues or a combination of the two.