For far too long, Washington has tried to patch the holes in the Highway Trust Fund without offering constructive solutions to the underlying problems. We need to modernize the way we handle transportation projects, not just rely on short-term fixes or a one-size-fits-all approach to the nation’s infrastructure needs.
Florida knows best which of their bridges are lacking repair or where road construction is most needed, not out-of-state members of Congress or federal bureaucrats.
I have introduced the Transportation Empowerment Act, which will give states the power to determine their own road map for transportation policy while largely eliminating Washington’s role as a bureaucratic middleman.
As states take the reins of their own transportation initiatives, the Transportation Empowerment Act will also reduce the federal gas tax accordingly, from 18.3 cents a gallon currently to 3.7 cents a gallon. It simply doesn't make sense for Floridians to send their money to Washington in the form of federal gas taxes, only for the federal government to divvy the money out again. Let's keep our transportation dollars in Florida where the state and our local communities can best determine how they are spent.
Click here to read the op-ed that I authored with Senator Mike Lee from Utah discussing this common-sense solution to reform our nation’s transportation policy.
Media Coverage of the Transportation Empowerment Act
The Heritage Foundation
... the current approach to surface transportation is Washington-centric in its priorities and inefficient; it rewards special interests and ignores transportation-consumer preferences and needs on the ground. States, localities, and the private sector are best able to set transportation priorities and manage projects to relieve congestion, enhance mobility, and improve safety. One proposal before Congress, the Transportation Empowerment Act, would refocus the federal role and funding of surface transportation solely on federal activities, putting states back in charge of addressing their specific needs.
USA Today
Raising the gas tax to prop up the Highway Trust Fund
is like pumping gas into a junkyard car. For every $1 of gas tax, Washington wastes 20% to 30% in needless federal regulations that jack up highway construction costs... Let’s drop this nonsense of raising the gas tax. Congress should leave the money and responsibility for road construction and repairs where they belong — back at the state and local levels. One good proposal to do that already exists; it’s the Transportation Empowerment Act, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee
, R-Utah, and Rep. Ron DeSantis
, R-Fla.
IJReview
If Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Ron DeSantis (R-FL) have their way, Americans could soon be paying less at the gas pump. The two congressmen recently introduced the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA), which aims to lower the national gas tax from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents per gallon. The cuts would be progressive over the next five years.
