Federal, state, and local governments all play a significant role in funding $300 billion in annual transportation spending. The federal government supplies important capital funding for highways, transit systems, airports, waterways, and ports while also operating the nation’s air traffic control system. State and local governments have an equally important task to invest in and operate their transportation networks and rely on a broad range of revenue sources, from general revenues and debt, to fuel taxes, fees, and tolls.
Refreshing the Status Quo: Federal Highway Programs and Funding Distribution
This year, the federal government gave $45.6 billion in highway “formula” funding to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The state-by-state distribution of this money was based almost entirely on how the states fared on a variety of real-world metrics back in calendar year 2007,...
