U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Jefferson County, will meet with constituents Monday on RTD’s W Line to talk about his upcoming vote on the Highway Trust Fund. (File photo by Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post)
You don’t see whistle-stop political campaigns much anymore, but that’s kind of what U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter has in mind as he takes the light rail across his district Monday to talk about his upcoming vote on the Highway Trust Fund — the billions of dollars in transportation projects that are supposed to be paid for with the federal fuel tax. That fund has come up woefully short and is (again) next June. Many major projects will run out of money on Oct. 29.
At stops along the light rail’s W Line between 7 and 9 a.m. Monday, Perlmutter will give his pitch and hear from constituents, his office announced Wednesday. The problem is big but the questions are simple: If the answer is more money, it comes from where; or if it’s fewer projects, which ones? So far, Congress has been unable to agree on any solutions.
Here is the Monday schedule Perlmutter’s communications office released:
· 7–7:30 a.m. – Visit with constituents at the Federal Center Station
· 7:30–7:40 a.m. – Travel on W Line from Federal Center Station to Wadsworth Station
· 7:40–8:10 a.m. – Visit with constituents at the Wadsworth Station
· 8:10–8:20 a.m. – Travel on W Line from Wadsworth Station to Sheridan Station
· 8:20–8:50 a.m. – Visit with constituents at the Sheridan Station
Rather than a long-term fix, leaders in Washington have been content to kick the can down the road dozens of times, and counting, as the Highway Trust Fund’s solvency falls farther behind and deeper in doubt.
This year alone, fuel tax revenue is expected to generate about $34 billion to cover about $50 billion in spending. As vehicles become more fuel-efficient, tax revenue and transportation projects such as light rail, could fall farther behind in the fiscal rear-view mirror without an increase in the tax rate or deep cutbacks in spending. The federal tax is 18.4 cents a gallon on gas and 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel.
In the spring, the president proposed a 14-percent tax on profits held overseas to raise an estimated $238 billion over five years as part of a six-year $478 billion surface transportation reauthorization plan . The idea hasn’t gotten much traction since. A similar proposal stalled out last year.
Last year the Denver Post’s transportation reporter, Monte Whaley, called problems for the poorly funded trust fund a one that has been prolonged by multi-billion extensions rather than a permanent solution, or as Monte put it “lawmakers so far have failed to agree on how they should refill the highway piggy bank.”
“Rep. Perlmutter strongly supports a long-term, sustainable solution for the Highway Trust Fund and believes a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization is needed to provide certainty allowing for long-term planning and safety upgrades,” the schedule states. “Currently, federal infrastructure spending does not meet the tremendous demand in communities across the country. A long-term plan is necessary to bring our nation’s infrastructure into the 21st century and maintain our competitiveness globally.”
Perlmutter, a Democrat, hasn’t drawn announced opposition for his re-election bid next year.
