In recent years, Congress has used several general Treasury fund transfers to cover the revenue shortfall, thereby undermining the user-pays principle. Lawmakers have failed to rid the transportation system of unnecessary programs, such as the Essential Air Service, a relic of airline deregulation that subsidizes air travel to and from rural airports. Congress uses budgetary gimmicks to avoid difficult choices. In the most recent transportation bill 10 years of revenues from tax code changes were used to cover just two years of transportation spending. This irresponsible approach to transportation policy is pushing the Highway Trust Fund as well as the Inland Waterways Trust Fund toward insolvency.
Explore the Transportation & Infrastructure Program-
Congressional Summer Ends with a THUD
The transportation and housing spending bill, called THUD, was on the floor in both the House and Senate. It failed to pass either. Here's why...

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Comparing Amtrak and Motorcoach Service
This analysis compares costs of specific trips between select U.S. city pairs on both Amtrak and motorcoach bus....

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Golden Fleece: KABATA - Taxpayer Funded Cheerleaders for Alaska’s Knik Arm Bridge
The Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA) spent millions of federal taxpayer dollars on a project that is going nowhere ...

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Water Waste: Cut Costly Provisions From Water Resources Development Act
The price tag for WRDA will be far greater than the $12 billion in the CBO estimate. In fact, it could easily be double...

Congress faces a challenge in providing enough funding to keep the nation’s transportation system in good repair in a manner that preserves the “user-pays” principle. The current gasoline tax does not generate enough revenue to meet lawmakers’ transportation spending desires, however. ...More
Congressional Summer Ends with a THUD
August 01, 2013
Congress is on the verge of heading home for a five-week vacation (“home work period” is the euphemism they use). In the run-up to heading...
Essential Air Service: Why Reform Isn’t Reducing Overall Cost
July 30, 2013
Early last year, the President signed the “FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,” authorizing spending for the Federal Aviation...
Letter to House: Support McClintock-Bridenstine-Hudson Amendment to Cut Essential Air Service
July 30, 2013
Support McClintock amendment to cut Essential Air Service funding....
Press Release: Report Shows Motorcoaches Should be Part of Transportation Mix
July 30, 2013
A new study by M.J. Bradley and Associates prepared for the American Bus Association Foundation, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and the Reason Foundation reveals lower consumer and taxpayer costs and reduced emissions associated with motorcoach travel as compared with Amtrak’s rail system. ...
Letter to Senate: Support Common Sense Amendments to Transportation/HUD Appropriations Bill
July 24, 2013
Propsals would cut wasteful spending and increase transparency....
A Lesson in What Saving Money Means to Congress: Essential Air Service
July 11, 2013
Essential Air Service (EAS) reforms passed as part of last year’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization bill were intended to...
Department of Energy: Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Program
August 29, 2013
Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) authorized the Department of Energy Advanced Technology Vehicles...
Supporting Passenger Mobility and Choice by Breaking Modal Stovepipes: Comparing Amtrak and Motorcoach Service
July 30, 2013
This analysis compares customer costs (fare, travel time) and societal costs (government subsidies, air emissions) associated with twenty specific trips that can currently be taken between select U.S. city pairs on both an Amtrak train and on a scheduled intercity motorcoach bus....
Golden Fleece: KABATA - Taxpayer Funded Cheerleaders for Alaska’s Knik Arm Bridge
June 26, 2013
Summary
Over the last decade, the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA) spent millions of federal taxpayer dollars on a project that...
Wanna Giveaway?: Congress Using Budget Gimmicks to Reverse Air Traffic Cuts
April 26, 2013
Update (12:30pm) - The House passed this bill today 361-41, and it now goes to the President for his signature. Though the bill does shift...
Analysis: Clipped wings: How essential is Essential Air Service?
September 17, 2013 | Great Falls Tribune
The program is called Essential Air Service, and its stated intent is to ensure that small communities distant from regional airport hubs...
River Industry Cites Olmsted Failure in Push for Taxpayer Aid
September 16, 2013 | Saint Louis Post-Dispatch
WASHINGTON • For years, the barge industry has complained that aging locks and dams hike the cost of waterborne cargo and pose an...
Trinity Uptown Bridges in Fort Worth Will Initially Span Dirt, Not Water
September 16, 2013 | Fort Worth Star Telegram
FORT WORTH — They’re not exactly bridges to nowhere, but when three new bridges in Fort Worth’s massive Trinity Uptown project are complete...
Critics Pan LIRR Plan to Spend Sandy Cash on Double Track
September 16, 2013 | Long Island Newsday
The Long Island Rail Road wants to spend $300 million in federal Sandy money to complete its Double Track effort between Farmingdale and...
House Makes Proposal for Waterways Projects
September 13, 2013 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A bipartisan group of congressional members has introduced legislation that would change the way billions of dollars of water infrastructure...
