Sen. Paul originally introduced S. 981, The Invest in Transportation Act of 2015 earlier this year, co-sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
"Our nation’s highways and bridges are in desperate need of repair and demand our immediate attention. My amendment is a fiscally responsible approach to providing the necessary resources to correct the shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund, while strengthening the U.S. economy and keeping jobs here at home,” Rand said.
The amendment would provide incentives for companies to bring back some of the estimated $2 trillion in foreign earnings that are being held overseas and thus make them eligible for US taxation. All tax revenues from the repatriation program would be transferred into the Highway Trust Fund, to fund government spending on highways, bridges, and transit systems.
-RW
Wow, that's news to me that "our nation's highways," are crumbling! I drive all over Texas highways, and the problem is the complete opposite.
ReplyDeleteThere's a massive toll highway with an 85 MPH speed limit between Austin and San Antonio...which was almost immediately downgraded to junk status due to low traffic:
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/10/23/threat-toll-road-default-could-hurt-future-project/
Highways are repeatedly paved over, and overpasses torn down and rebuilt in high traffic areas, but with no lanes added, even at the world's most obvious choke points. That only causes more traffic jams than it could ever alleviate.
Please, no more "fixing" the highways!
Then you have the other extreme, Houston, where some areas have been expanded to about 16 lanes wide (I'm not exaggerating), and still jam up.
Now consider that this is a large region with net federal tax payments, few toll roads, relatively low gas excises and vehicle fees, and a massive network of sprawling highways, that go on for hours and hours between major cities.
In the rest of the US, the excuses for more funding are on even wobblier ground.
The federal gas excise was supposed to expire in the early 80s, when the interstate highways were completed.
So is this about "our nation's highways" crumbling, or "our nation's construction cronies" crumbling, because they've in fact overbuilt for the last several decades and are running out of excuses?
I'm with you Brandon. No more "fixing" the highways, please!
ReplyDeleteHere in Dallas/Ft Worth we're enduring a massive (dollar and size-wise) case of crony road construction in every direction that seems to have solved nothing. I'm just thankful we live far enough out of the sprawl that my wife and I don't really have to deal with it unless we choose to.
And Houston? What a nightmare! Lol!
Hey, professor Block! This wasn't what you had in mind when you were defending the indefensible. Publicly repudiate Rand!
ReplyDelete