Sens. Mark Kelly, Ted Cruz Introduce the Highway Formula Modernization Act

Bipartisan Legislation would help Arizona, Texas, other growing states get fair share of federal roads funding

Today U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Highway Formula Modernization Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation which would direct the Department of Transportation to reevaluate the funding formulas used to distribute federal highway dollars for the first time in 16 years. 

“For decades, Arizona has received less than its fair share in federal funding for the highways, roads, and bridges we use every day,” said Senator Kelly. “The Highway Formula Modernization Act will ensure that growing states like Arizona are no longer shortchanged and receive the funding needed to make investments in the critical infrastructure Americans rely on.”

“Texas continually receives proportionally less funding from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) than any other state, even as we contribute the most in gas tax revenue to the HTF every year,” said Senator Cruz. “Texas taxpayers deserve better, and Texas highways deserve their fair share of infrastructure development funding. I am proud to join Sen. Kelly on this commonsense bill calling for a study to modernize the formula to ensure we invest properly in Texas highways and highways across the nation. I also applaud Sen. Kelly for co-sponsoring my bill, the Highway Formula Fairness Act, which would codify an update to this outdated formula.”

While Congress has made minor updates to the highway trust fund formulas in recent years, the formulas used to allocate highway funding have not been updated since 2005, despite population growth in states like Arizona and Texas. Nearly all federal highway dollars are allocated to states and local governments based on these outdated formulas which are used to fund roads, bridges, and other critical transportation infrastructure.

You can read the full text of the bill here.