U.S. House Republicans unveil $8.1
billion short-term transport bill
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[July 14, 2015]
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the
U.S. House of Representatives on Monday unveiled an $8.1 billion plan to
fund highway and rail transit projects through the end of 2015, paid for
by extending an airport security fee increase and various tax rule
changes.
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Congress faces a July 31 deadline to renew federal transportation
spending authority and avoid a major slowdown in road construction
projects nationwide.
The five-month funding extension bill, which also will replenish the
dwindling Highway Trust Fund for five months, was introduced by
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and House
Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster.
Both Republicans and Democrats have said they would prefer a longer,
six-year transportation bill, but lawmakers have not been able to
agree on funding the nearly half-billion dollar cost.
The short-term extension is aimed at buying time for lawmakers to
negotiate a longer-term bill, funded largely by capturing tax
revenues from the repatriation of some $2 trillion in U.S. corporate
profits held overseas.
However, Ryan said that would need to be part of a larger revamp of
the international corporate tax code that will take several more
months.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jul/14/images/ads/current/ccaonline_sda050208.png) "This country needs a long-term plan to fix our roads, bridges, and
other infrastructure, and this bill gives us our best shot at
completing one this year," Ryan and Shuster said in a statement.
The trust fund has been chronically depleted in recent years because
fuel tax rates have not changed since 1993 while construction costs
have risen and vehicle fuel economy has improved. Republicans, who
control both the House and Senate have ruled out a fuel tax
increase.
The House plan would fund the $8.1 billion patch by extending higher
Transportation Security Administration fees by two more years, until
2026, this would produce new revenues of $3.2 billion over 10 years.
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In a 2013 budget deal, the minimum fees, levied on airline tickets,
were more than doubled to $5.60 for each one-way trip.
The rest of the offsetting savings come from tax code changes aimed
at improving collections and reporting of income. Estates would be
required to report the value of a property on the day of the owner's
death, preventing heirs from overstating the value years later to
reduce their tax liability upon sale. And mortgage lenders would
have to submit information on mortgage origination dates, reducing
inaccurate reporting.
The Ryan and Shuster proposal does not include a provision to renew
the charter of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which expired on June
30. Ryan has said he believes the government trade lending agency
practices "crony capitalism" and should be closed.
Democrats in the Senate are planning to attach a measure to revive
Ex-Im to a Senate transportation bill
(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Michael Perry)
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