On Tuesday, President-Elect Biden announced his intent to nominate former South Bend, Indiana Mayor and Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg to be the Secretary of Transportation. At the Department of Transportation, Buttigieg will oversee a budget of about $90 billion — including about $22 billion in discretionary dollars — and manage a staff of about 55,000. Buttigieg was one of the few 2020 presidential contenders to endorse a proposal of transitioning from the current Highway Trust Fund, which is paid for through the gas tax, to a “vehicle miles traveled” alternative that would tax drivers based on their road mileage. The current gas tax was last increased in 1993 under President Bill Clinton and since 2008, Congress has sustained highway spending by transferring over $140 billion of general revenues to the fund. While Buttigieg’s plan calls for the eventual transition away from the current gas tax system, his plan also calls for a $165 billion infusion of federal dollars to keep the highway system solvent through 2029 while the conversion occurred.
