Article credit to David Cullen at TruckingInfo

Although it’s likely to land with a solid thud on Capitol Hill — given that there are just two months left until current surface-transportation legislation expires — the U.S. Department of Transportation officially announced its $478-billion, six-year transportation reauthorization proposal.

Funding for this year’s version of the GROW America Act would in part come from revenue gained from a one-time tax on overseas corporate profits. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx sent the propsal to Congress on March 30.

The proposal would allocate $317 billion in funding for federal highway programs, which would equate to an increase of 29% over fiscal year 2015 levels. The proposal would also virtually triple NHTSA’s funding, in part to increase that agency’s ability to deal with potentially dangerous vehicle recalls.

U.S. DOT Unveils Its Long-Term Transportation Funding Bill

The Administration’s proposal is funded by supplementing current revenues from the Highway Trust Fund in combination with a 14% transition tax on the up to $2 trillion of untaxed foreign earnings that U.S. companies have accumulated overseas, according to DOT. If enacted, the funding would prevent Highway Trust Fund insolvency for six years.

The bill also calls for $18 billion for a “new multimodal freight grant program to fund innovative rail, highway, and port projects that will improve the efficient movement of goods across the country,” said DOT. “The GROW AMERICA Act will also give shippers and transportation providers a real seat at the table for making investment decisions and incentivizes States to collaborate and establish long term freight strategic plans.”

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