July 22, 2008

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John Boehner
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader Boehner:

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) calls on Congress to address the impending funding shortfall of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) as soon as possible. A projected $3.2 billion shortfall for federal fiscal year (FY) 2009 stands to complicate state budgeting, threatens critical infrastructure projects, jeopardizes 485,000 jobs, risks American competitiveness, and promises longer-term and steeper declines in federal transportation funding for states, if not immediately resolved.

An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimate projects a $3.2 billion deficit in the Highway Account in FY 2009, with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasting a deficit of $1.1 billion. The difference in estimates is attributable to how OMB and CBO score outlays of federal funds. Regardless, the problem is real, and if the shortfall is not resolved, states and their road projects will experience a shortfall approaching $14 billion -- approximately four times as much as OMB's estimate -- due to time lags between state obligations and federal outlays.

Enactment of a federal solution to this problem is necessary to preserve highway investment and provide the predictable, long-term federal funding on which highway projects and state transportation budgets depend. Delay of the shortfall fix creates uncertainty in state budgeting. With state fiscal years already underway, the projected HTF shortfall presents states with uncertainty and jeopardizes project planning, contracting, employment, economic stimulus, and competitiveness.

An important state-federal partnership supports America’s transportation system. We urge you to find a remedy for the HTF shortfall in order to protect the nation's investment in transportation, to provide states with certainty for long-term funding, and to support a proven economic development tool.

Please have your staff contact Jeremy Meadows (202-624-8664; jeremy.meadows@ncsl.org) in NCSL’s Washington office with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to working with you to ensure a safe and secure transportation system.

Sincerely,

Representative Daniel P. Silva
New Mexico House of Representatives
Chair, NCSL Transportation Committee Senator Bruce Starr
Oregon State Senate
Past Chair, NCSL Transportation Committee

CC: All Members, U.S. House of Representatives