Shant Boyajian Quoted In Law360 On Federal Gas Tax

Shant Boyajian, an Associate in Nossaman’s Infrastructure Practice Group and the lead author and negotiator on the  Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act—the largest infrastructure bill in US history—was quoted in Law360 article Alternative Ways To Pay For Trump’s Infrastructure Plan. The article discusses the willingness of the Trump Administration and certain lawmakers to consider a federal gas tax hike to fund a much needed surface transportation upgrade.

Currently, the Highway Trust Fund (which pays for surface transportation projects across the US, and is funded by the federal gas tax) brings in about $40 billion per year—but this amount is not enough to fund critical transportation projects. The federal gas tax has not been increased in 25 years, and since then, Mr. Boyajian said Inflation, fuel efficiency, and higher construction costs have reduced the value of the ‘gas tax’ to a fraction of what it once was….Congress has the opportunity to address this funding problem as part of a larger infrastructure package this spring. While Congress has struggled in recent years to raise federal infrastructure funding in a sustainable way, a vocal, bipartisan coalition is forming on the Hill and emphasizing the importance of solving this issue.