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September 1: Budget Office Sees Highway Fund Secure to 2013 from The Journal of Commerce
- The Congressional Budget Office is drawing the attention of transportation policy experts with an upbeat estimate that the nation's Highway Trust Fund should be able to cover its projected spending needs into fiscal 2013. By that time the fund would be running nearly out of money. If the CBO scenario holds, the fund would end the 2013 budget year with just $900 million left for highway spending and $600 million for transit. The Department of Transportation has said it needs at least a $4 billion cushion to maintain funding of state highway programs without cash flow problems. But that also means the Obama administration and lawmakers in Congress could have at least two years, at current revenue and spending trends, before they would need to replenish the HTF either by increasing fees that go into it or with a boost from the general fund.
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