Investing in America: A Penny for Progress Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require federal taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel or kerosene to be increased annually after 2017 to account for: (1) highway construction costs, and (2) reduced fuel usage due to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The bill exempts kerosene fuels used in aviation from the increases and limits the annual increases to 1.5 cents.
The bill also requires the Department of the Treasury to issue 30-year Invest in America Bonds in specified amounts annually through FY2030. The revenue from the bonds must be transferred to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), with 80% allocated to the Highway Account and 20% allocated to the Mass Transit Account. The bill specifies requirements for allocating the additional funding from the HTF.
Treasury must repay the bonds using the revenues that are attributable to the increased taxes required by this bill. After all of the bonds have been redeemed, additional revenues attributable to the increases must be transferred to the HTF.
The bill also modifies Department of Transportation reporting requirements regarding: (1) infrastructure investment needs, and (2) public transportation investment needs.
The bill amends the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) to repeal a rescission of certain unobligated federal-aid highway funds apportioned among the states.