Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Chair, I thank the chair for yielding.

My amendment provides direction to do everything possible to fix the indefensible disparity between States in the per capita allocation of transportation funding through the Highway Trust Fund. Under the current process, known as apportionment, many States receive far more in Federal funding for surface transportation than they contribute through the gas tax.

Apportionment in no way is a scientific or mathematical formula but is simply grandfathering in a table of numbers that were used to buy votes in the Senate generations ago. Unsurprisingly, this table of numbers greatly favors the low-population States that are overrepresented in the Senate.

This problem is compounded by the fact that high-wage States like Illinois pay more in taxes but get no credit for this when income tax funds are transferred into the Highway Trust Fund. As a result, some States receive sometimes five times more per person than Illinois and other large States.

My amendment represents a clear statement by the House of Representatives that we should move toward a per capita allotment that is fair to people no matter what State they live in.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this en bloc package.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source