Today, the House voted on the Highway Transportation Funding Act of 2015

Today, the House voted on the Highway Transportation Funding Act of 2015, a bill that offers a short-term answer to the highway funding problem by authorizing $8.1 billion in spending through December 18. This short-term funding patch was made necessary by two problematic factors, one of which I have tried to address – the other a part of a larger turf battle in Washington. On the first, our system of funding roads and bridges in this country is fundamentally flawed. More take from the fund than pay into it, and this is what my bill, the Highway Restoration Act, is designed to correct. The other issue at play here is a debate on corporate tax reform, and Paul Ryan, now head of the Ways and Means Committee, wants to save money for that endeavor rather than have it go into the Highway Trust Fund. As a consequence, we are left with another short-term fix until that wrestling match is decided between chairmen.

I voted against this bill along with 119 of my colleagues. Outside of the larger considerations just mentioned that forced the patch, it was done in a way that was wrong if you believe in limiting government and straight-forward accounting. Accordingly, let me offer a few thoughts on why I voted as I did.

First, to pay for this bill, it essentially raised taxes to the tune of $3.1 billion. They were fees, but most folks I talk to tell me if it leaves their pocket and goes to government…it’s a tax of some sort. In this case, the money was redirected from the TSA budget, which currently collects this money from passenger when they buy airline tickets. The problem is the TSA security service will continue. TSA will simply no longer have the allocated funds to do so because this highway bill will have raided their budget. But if you are still doing something that costs money…someone pays. This means more deficits down the road or a tax increase later. Robbing Peter to pay Paul never works out well for the taxpayer.

Second, this bill does more than just take the $3 billion from TSA, it takes it 10 years from now to pay for spending over the next six months! The idea of spending now and hoping that money comes in 10 years down the road on a program that could be altered or changed tomorrow, does not strike most as conservative budgeting. The real catch here is that the budgeteers had to wait until 2024 to “borrow” this money because this budgeting sleight of hand has already been used to pour money into the Highway Trust Fund between now and then!

Finally, the remaining $5 billion in offsets used to pay for highway spending over the next 6 months comes from tweaks in the Tax Code that they “hope” will raise the $5 billion over the next ten years. Let me say that again, six months of spending now – paid for by IRS tax enforcement that may or may not materialize over the next ten years. Gordon Sullivan, once chief of staff to the Army, wrote a book entitled, “Hope is not a method,” and with something as important as funding our country’s infrastructure, indeed it’s not.