Highway Funds Losing Money

Yet another unforeseen consequence of high gasoline prices and less driving: the gas tax-funded federal highway trust fund is being depleted, putting states' highway project funding in danger.

1 minute read

July 22, 2008, 8:00 AM PDT

By Michael Dudley

"As motorists cut back on their driving and buy more fuel-efficient cars, the government is taking in less money from the federal gasoline tax.

The result: The principal source of funding for highway projects will soon hit a big financial pothole. The federal highway trust fund could be in the red by $3.2 billion or more next year.

The fund, set to finance about $40 billion in transportation projects next year, is increasingly strained. [L]awmakers must figure out whether the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax, which helped bring in money when fuel-hungry SUVs were hot, is still a viable way to fund transportation projects amid heightened concern about gasoline prices, U.S. dependence on foreign oil and global warming."

FULL STORY: U.S. highway trust fund veers toward crisis

Monday, July 21, 2008 in The Los Angeles Times

Transportation California Gas Taxes

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