ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 3, 1997 TAG: 9703030093
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB GOODLATTE
FOR EVERY gallon of gasoline we buy, we pay 18.4 cents in federal taxes to Washington. That money goes into the Highway Trust Fund and is available to states for building new roads and bridges and upgrading existing ones.
However, for every dollar Virginia sends to Washington in gas taxes, only 79 cents is returned. Other states gobble up Virginia's contributions because of an unfair funding formula. This costs our state tens of millions of dollars each year.
Under the current formula, some states receive more than double the money they contribute to the trust fund. Massachusetts, for example, receives $2.49 for every dollar it collects in taxes at the pumps. Connecticut has a nearly 168 percent return on its tax payments to Washington.
As a result, Virginia families are forced to subsidize transportation projects in these states and many others. While states with large areas and small populations may need to receive more money than they contribute, many of the states on the receiving end of the ISTEA funding formula are there because of politics and not because of fairness.
As we look around our state, we see many unmet transportation needs. Right here in the 6th District, road projects such as widening Interstate 81, building Interstate 73 and constructing the TransAmerica highway all need funding. Building and maintaining a system of good roads is vital to creating jobs and continuing economic development in our region.
That's why I am a co-sponsor of legislation called Step 21, which will change the funding formula created by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, commonly referred to as ISTEA. ISTEA will expire on Sept. 30. To continue state and local surface transportation projects, new legislation will have to be passed and signed into law by the president before then. To meet this deadline and to remedy the problems that have surfaced in the last five years under ISTEA, legislation called the ISTEA Integrity Restoration Act has been introduced. This act is often referred to as Step 21, because it is a surface transportation plan for the 21st century.
As a co-sponsor of Step 21, I support its efforts to retain the best part of the federal highway system while adding flexibility for state and local governments. I strongly support the new funding formula, which will be more fair to Virginia. If the new formula is adopted, it will mean a minimum of $60 million more for Virginia each year.
Step 21 would return at least 95 cents of every dollar to Virginia. Important transportation projects in our district and other parts of our state could move along at a faster pace. Ending an unfair funding formula and giving state and local governments more flexibility in transportation issues are important steps for this Congress to take.
Bob Goodlatte, a Republican, represents Virginia's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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