Washington Notebook: Governors urge action to rescue Highway Trust Fund

   Seventeen Democratic and Republican governors last week urged Congress to find a long-term solution for the revenue shortage that plagues the Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to run out of money to pay for highway construction by the end of the summer.
   Congress has propped up the HTF, which is the repository for user fees collected at the fuel pump and excise taxes on commercial truckers, with more than $50 billion in transfers from the general fund during the past several years.
   Finding new revenue streams is one of the big challenges facing Congress this session as it debates the renewal of major surface transportation legislation that is set to expire Sept. 30. The two-year MAP-21 bill avoided the issue of raising taxes or other ways of making up the gap between current investment needs and revenues.
   In a letter to congressional leaders, the governors, said, “The situation is creating great uncertainty about the viability of our long-term transportation improvement plans. And if remedial action is not taken in a timely manner, the consequences would harm the economy of every state.
   “We urge you to act as soon as possible to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund’s revenue situation for the long-term so the successful federal-state partnership that created the Interstate Highway System can deliver the national surface transportation network our nation requires.”
   The group of governors last summer launched the National Transportation Coalition to keep pressure on Congress to maintain a strong federal role in transportation and find a sustainable funding mechanism for surface transportation.