Mike Levin: “I am concerned that the 5-month highway bill extension being considered by the Senate today does not address the…”

“I am concerned that the 5-month highway bill extension being considered by the Senate today does not address the inequity faced by the donor States for so many years. The donor State inequity issue is the historic problem of about 20 States, including Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma, known as ``donor'' States, who have sent more gas tax dollars year after year to the Highway Trust Fund in Washington than were returned in transportation infrastructure spending. The remaining 30 States, known as ``donee'' States, have received more transportation funding than they paid into the Highway Trust Fund. For a long time there has been no legitimacy to retaining such antiquated and unfair formulas that require taxpayers in 20 of our States to subsidize highway projects in 30 other States. We should not consider a highway bill without addressing this important issue. It is a high priority to see that this historic inequity be corrected. At stake are tens of millions of dollars a year in additional funding to pay for badly needed transportation improvements in Michigan and the jobs that go with it.”