Frank Lautenberg: “I could not agree more. What has happened is the proposed formula is a much more mathematical exercise. It says if you…”

“I could not agree more. What has happened is the proposed formula is a much more mathematical exercise. It says if you put in this dollar's worth of gas tax, that you have to get back your dollar's worth of investment in the highways. On the other hand, States like yours and States like mine get a far less return on our total tax dollars, those dollars sent to the Federal Government, than many or most States in the country. In my case, we happen to be number 50 in return on dollars that we send down to Washington. This was one place that there was an opportunity to regain some of the advantage that was rightfully ours, and it is being ignored. So to answer the Senator's question, there are many conditions that ought to be evaluated in terms of a national transportation investment that go beyond simply the dollar-for-dollar return on gas tax. It ought to consider what contribution does the State of Maryland, does the State of Rhode Island, does the State of New Jersey make to the national economy, to the national well-being as a result of having its roads available and open and in decent condition so that traffic that goes from place to place--from the market, from the farm to the port, from the factory to the airport--what kind of a return ought we to get for that? What kind of compensation ought we get for that?”