The U.S. Senate is set to take up legislation this week to keep federal highway dollars flowing to Illinois and other states beyond the end of the month.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says two big factors are contributing to the continuing decline of the Interstate Highway system.
First, he says, the federal motor fuel tax has not been increased in more than 22 years.
“The fuel efficiency of vehicles has created a situation where you still have people driving, but the revenue position of the highway trust fund is getting worse and worse,” Foxx said.
Foxx says the shortfall is about 15-billion dollars a year. Lawmakers, mostly Republicans, do not want to raise the motor fuel tax or go deeper in debt to address the problem.
“I think clearly the momentum is pushing towards some type of business tax reform, international tax reform to help us get something done,” Foxx said.
The result has been more than 30 short-term fixes since 2009.