Graves statement on call for National VMT Program

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) released the following statement regarding a letter sent today by a wide array of transportation stakeholders calling for a national vehicle miles traveled (VMT) implementation program:

“Funding our infrastructure should not be a political battle.  It’s time to set a definitive path towards the long-term sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund – a path that is totally funded by all users of the system and not by insufficient gas taxes and deficit spending. This is how we realize the transformative projects everyone wants to accomplish.

“This strong statement of support rightly recognizes the successes at the state level in testing VMT systems, and we should not further delay their call to move towards a national program.  If we do not take concrete steps towards setting up a national program, then we will always be 10 years away.

“I look forward to working with Members of Congress and the transportation community to enact a national VMT pilot that addresses all privacy issues, ensures rural drivers are not unduly burdened, and reaffirms a commitment to the user-pays principle by putting us on a path to a sustainable user fee for the Highway Trust Fund.”