"We are encouraged that the report emphasizes the vital link between transportation and balancing the federal deficit," said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. "This crucial investment in transportation will pay huge dividends in the form of safer highways and transit systems for generations to come, while creating and sustaining hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs today."

The proposal received 11 votes from the commission's 18 members this morning, a majority but not the three-fourths supermajority (14 votes) required to endorse the plan and submit it to Congress. The 11 votes in favor came from a bipartisan majority of seven Democratic appointees and four Republican appointees.

The commission's proposal states that without new Highway Trust Fund revenue, policymakers will be forced to impose highway and transit program cuts that would reduce payrolls and impede economic growth. The 66-page proposal is available at bit.ly/NCFRP120110. 

AASHTO also joined with leaders from a diverse coalition of transportation interests in releasing a statement commending commission Chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson for recognizing in their recommendations the critical role surface transportation improvements play in the nation's overall fiscal and economic health. 

"We strongly support their proposal to phase-in a 15-cent federal motor-fuels-tax increase to ensure the U.S. surface transportation network is strategically upgraded to promote and accommodate future economic growth," the 21 organizations said in their joint statement. "The infrastructure investment component of the proposal is consistent with the recommendations of two independent, bipartisan commissions established by Congress in the last major transportation bill."

Both the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission and the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission recommended increased federal investment in transportation infrastructure and recommended that it be paid for by users in a variety of ways, including an increase in the federal motor-fuel fee. The first commission recommended an increase of 25 to 40 cents per gallon, while the second commission recommended an increase of 10 cents per gallon. Both commissions acknowledged the fact that public/private partnerships to fund transportation projects have limited applications and are not a substitute for core federal investment. 

"We support this latest recommendation because it reinforces the long-standing policy of pay-as-you-go financing by system users as the foundation of the federal surface transportation program's success over the past half century," according to the joint statement by AASHTO and others. "Capital investments, like highway and public transportation improvements, are long-term activities that require the financial stability generated from recurring revenues. This user-pay construct has assured the federal surface transportation programs are fiscally responsible and largely deficit neutral. It is also important to recognize that a small portion of the public transportation program has been historically funded with general funds. These contributions meet critical needs and should be continued."

Raising the federal gasoline and diesel taxes as recommended by the commission's proposal would allow Congress to move forward with a long-term reauthorization of the surface transportation program that provides the resources and policy reforms necessary to facilitate long-term economic growth, supporters contend.

"We encourage all members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to support the co-chairmen's proposal to generate new revenues for the Highway Trust Fund," the joint statement concludes.

The organizations that signed onto the joint statement in addition to AASHTO are:

• American Concrete Pipe Association
• American Council of Engineering Companies
• American Highway Users Alliance
• American Public Transportation Association
• American Road & Transportation Builders Association
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• American Traffic Safety Services Association
• American Trucking Associations
• Associated General Contractors of America
• Association of Equipment Manufacturers
• Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
• International Union of Operating Engineers
• Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust
• Laborers' International Union of North America
• National Asphalt Pavement Association
• National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
• National Stone, Sand, & Gravel Association
• National Utility Contractors Association
• Portland Cement Association
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America