Rep. Roy Testifies on Amendment to Increase Texas’s Share of Highway Trust Fund

I testified before the House Rules Committee on my amendment to the INVEST in America Act, House Democrats’ surface transportation bill, that would ensure Texas and other states receive a fairer share of federal infrastructure funding from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

Currently, 19 states, including Texas, receive a less than 95 percent rate of return on their contribution to total deposits paid into Highway Trust Fund. My amendment would establish a minimum guarantee for federal highway funding received by states tied to the percentage of total monies paid into the HTF.

Some key quotes from the testimony are below. 

• As many people know, Texas contains more interstate miles and contributes more to the trust fund than any other state but, in many ways, we’ve been shortchanged with respect to the return on those dollars that go in.
• It’s time for us to at least revisit that formula, I think some of my colleagues from Texas certainly agree, and I think some of my colleagues from other states that end up with less than 95 percent would also agree.   
• If Texas were to receive 95 percent of the 11.72 percent it contributed to the Highway Trust Fund pool, Texas would receive an additional $557 million in a year for our needs.