February 10, 2014 – The Congressional Budget Office released its latest estimates for the overall federal deficit Feb. 4 and projected that the Highway Trust Fund will need an infusion of $172 billion over the next 10 years to stay solvent, according to NSSGA. The new figures confirm what transportation industry stakeholders and administration officials have been warning since the passage of MAP-21 – that the highway account is on pace to run out of funds even before the end of FY’14. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires a balance of at least $4 billion in the HTF to meet obligations; CBO now projects the account will only have $1 billion left at the end of September. This means Congress must act now if federal funds are to continue to flow to the states without interruption. The current surface transportation authorization, MAP-21, expires Sept. 30, 2014, but CBO’s latest report serves as a wake-up call to the administration and all members of Congress that further delay in solving America’s infrastructure funding crisis is unacceptable.
The Clock is Ticking
