News broke yesterday that the Obama administration is telling Senators that the Highway Trust Fund — that pays for the projects approved in the transportation bill — will go broke by August if an emergency infusion of at least $7 billion isn’t approved. The system is broke, but it’s also broken. We need a federal transportation system that works, not the same broken thing at twice the price.

As Congress moves towards the reauthorization of our transportation program, we can expect that one of the biggest challenges the federal government will face will be figuring out just how to pay for our vast transportation needs. After all, as Americans continue to drive less, revenues from the gas tax — which hasn’t been raised [...]

An economic downturn and falling gas tax revenue puts Virginia’s transportation system in a tough spot. (Associated Press — Larry O’Dell)

U.S. Representative James Oberstar, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, answers questions from the Kansas City Star about the challenges facing our transportation system and the role of transit in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and oil dependence.

Michigan is facing a $342 million shortfall in its transportation budget that could prevent the state from getting $2 billion in federal money over the next three years, and state leaders have few options — other than raising the gas tax — for increasing revenue. (Detroit Free-Press — Editorial)

The Washington Post editorial board argues that the next administration must think deeply about the transportation challenges facing the nation and come up with new and sustainable methods for funding infrastructure.

Declining gas tax revenue and a sputtering economy have prompted Maryland’s state government to delay $1.1 billion in transportation projects over the next five years. (Associated Press — Alex Dominguez)

Citing the growing problem of declining gas tax revenue, the White House throws its hat into the ring on transportation funding and argues that public-private partnerships and more tolls are the best solutions. (Wall Street Journal — Christopher Conkey)

The U.S. government is facing a critical shortfall in its transportation budget, and the Denver Post editorial board is standing behind a 10-cent increase in the federal gas tax as a way to plug the holes in the dam.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters talks about our “broken” federal transportation program, arguing that we need fewer earmarks, streamlined funding for projects, and a new source of revenue other than the gas tax. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Ariel Hart)