Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bill Shuster

Shuster “Encouraged” By Obama’s Transportation Funding Announcement

Bill Shuster is still digesting yesterday’s twin funding proposals from President Obama and Ways and Means Chair Dave Camp, but he’s “encouraged” by what he’s heard. Both proposals rely on corporate tax reform to plug the hole in the highway trust fund. Camp's proposal would raise about $125 billion; Obama's, $150 billion. Neither has yet released details on how their plans would work.

T&I Chair Bill Shuster wants to "build on" the reforms in MAP-21. Photo: ##http://www.heraldstandard.com/election/shuster-supports-romney-in-gop-primary/article_ba7064fe-de09-5e42-b291-e95983b33a45.html##Herald-Standard##
T&I Chair Bill Shuster wants to "build on" the reforms in MAP-21. Photo: ##http://www.heraldstandard.com/election/shuster-supports-romney-in-gop-primary/article_ba7064fe-de09-5e42-b291-e95983b33a45.html##Herald-Standard##
T&I Chair Bill Shuster wants to "build on" the reforms in MAP-21. Photo: ##http://www.heraldstandard.com/election/shuster-supports-romney-in-gop-primary/article_ba7064fe-de09-5e42-b291-e95983b33a45.html##Herald-Standard##

“I never thought some of these other ideas were ever going to be in the cards,” the House Transportation Committee chair told reporters this afternoon.

Speaking today at the annual Washington meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Shuster said he was hoping to get a surface transportation reauthorization bill done this summer. Sen. Barbara Boxer has put her committee’s timeline at mid- to late-spring, using August as a deadline, when federal highway funds are expected to run out. The current MAP-21 bill expires September 30, and Shuster is using that as his deadline.

Shuster told AASHTO that he’s committed to a “fiscally responsible” bill that doesn’t engage in deficit spending, and that he hopes to “build on the reforms in MAP-21,” some of which haven’t even been implemented yet.

“He kind of implied that we’re done with reform,” commented Joshua Schank of the Eno Center for Transportation after Shuster’s remarks. “I don’t think we’re done with reform by a long shot.”

Schank’s primary objection to the status quo is that too much money is distributed by formula and not by merit. And funding transportation with corporate tax reform could potentially open the system up to more discretionary grant programs, Schank said, which would be a positive development. The most innovative transportation work -- TIGER, New Starts -- happens with general fund money, he said.

“The problem with destroying the user-pay model is that you potentially put funding in jeopardy all the time and you constantly have to go back and find new sources of funding,” Schank said. “But the benefit is, I think there’s a much better chance of reforming how we spend it -- making it more multimodal in distribution -- if it’s not just coming from highway users.”

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Are on the Ballot

There's a decent chance you live in a jurisdiction where transit funding is on the ballot this November.

October 11, 2024

The 1,000-Page Document That Decides Your Street Designs Just Got a Refresh

For better — or more often, for worse — a single federal document dictates what nearly every American street looks like. Meet the MUTCD.

October 11, 2024

Opinion: Our Loneliness Epidemic Reveals America’s Failed Urban Planning

"As we consider the multitude of ways to address our nation’s loneliness crisis, we must have serious conversations about how we can better shape our built environment to enable extended networks of care."

October 11, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: The Architecture of Urbanity

Vishaan Chakrabarti on goldilocks density, defining urbanity, the ennui of young architects and much, much more.

October 10, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines Are Nonbiased

Human cops disproportionately stop Black drivers, while automated cameras don't show the same bias, according to one recent study.

October 10, 2024
See all posts