Abstract
In 1968, President Johnson placed the Highway Trust Fund within a general unified budget. Today four trust funds—Highway, Aviation, Inland Waterways, and Harbor Maintenance—are shown as part of the General Fund, and today their combined balances have risen to nearly $31 billion. Why are these funds used for offsetting deficit spending instead of improving infrastructure as promised? Congressman Bud Sinister introduced H.R. 842—the Truth in Budgeting Act—in February 1995 with a simple purpose. It would take all four trust funds out of the General Fund budget. With over 200 cosponsors, H.R. 842 was passed by the house 284–143. Yet some members of Congress oppose this effort because they believe off-budget trust funds will eliminate their oversight off these programs. Quite the contrary, Congress and the executive branch would retain all their controls on trust fund expenditures. Another controversy concerns whether off budget funds will lessen the control of overall spending. Yet, if Congress is to be accountable to the contributors of these funds, they will expend the funds for the intended infrastructure needs, restoring the public's faith in their government and ensuring the integrity of these self financed programs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.