Clinton’s Budget Director Backs Congestion Pricing, VMT Tax
Alice Rivlin, now at the Brookings Institution, is one of the capital's most experienced economic hands.
Alice Rivlin (Photo: Brookings)She served as the founding director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and former President Clinton's budget director before moving on to become vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. During the economic stimulus debate earlier this year, Rivlin was among the few voices pushing for strong long-term infrastructure investment that would be tackled separately from short-term spending.
So it's reasonable to ask how Rivlin would approach the federal government's transportation funding crisis. And she answered the question yesterday during a legal conference. The Bond Buyer, a trade newspaper, put her remarks near the end of a related story (emphasis mine):
[Rivlin] argued on an earlier panel that major metropolitan areas, ratherthan state or local governments, should play a key role in financingand executing major infrastructure projects.
Metro areas are the focal points of the nation’s economy, she said,pointing out that while the 100 largest metropolitan areas nationwideaccount for just 12% of the land nationwide, they contain 65% of thecountry’s population and produce more than 75% of its gross domesticproduct. ...
Furthermore, she said the nation needs to overhaul how it financesits infrastructure needs, calling the gas tax flawed and increasinglyoutdated as consumers turn more and more to fuel-efficient vehicles.
“We need a major shift in the financing methods for roads andtransit to incent efficiency and send stronger price signals,” she said.
Instead, infrastructure needs should be funded by a vehiclemiles-traveled tax in conjunction with fees imposed on drivers usingcongested roads during peak travel times, she said.
Given Congress' increasing resistance to tackling tough problems, it's unlikely that Rivlin's advice will be heard immediately on Capitol Hill. But her endorsement of those solutions is a pretty good sign.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday’s Headlines Got Served
Another day, another GOP lawsuit trying to overturn a Biden administration climate change rule.
Disabled People Are Dying in America’s Crosswalks — But We’re Not Counting Them
The data on traffic fatalities and injuries doesn’t account for their needs or even count them. Better data would enable better solutions.
Talking Headways Podcast: Charging Up Transportation
This week, we talk to the great Gabe Klein, executive director of President Biden's Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (and a former Streetsblog board member), about curbside electrification.
Why Does the Vision Zero Movement Stop At the Edge of the Road?
U.S. car crash deaths are nearly 10 percent higher if you count collisions that happen just outside the right of way. So why don't off-road deaths get more air time among advocates?
Donald Shoup: Here’s a Parking Policy That Works for the People
Free parking has a veneer of equality, but it is unfair. Here's a proposal from America's leading parking academic that could make it more equitable.
