Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) released a report that highlights the findings of a Government Accountability Office report that they say shows federal highway funds are being misspent. The report claims that $78 billion of Highway Trust Fund revenues were used for non-highway construction and maintenance purposes from FY 2004 to 2008.
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) was quick to refute the charge. According to ARTBA, $44 billion of the $78 billion was designated for transit and another $5.5 billion for behavioral, vehicular and truck safety programs.
ARTBA said only $28 billion of the accused spending was marked for highway improvements anyway, and roughly half of that went to investments in safety infrastructure, planning, highway-rail grade crossings and research, “which are critical components of highway maintenance and construction,” said ARTBA.
“As such the report is essentially focused on just over 7% of the federal highway funds made available over this period, and it should be noted all the activities undertaken with these funds were authorized by Congress,” ARTBA added.
