The Commission recognizes the fundamental value of the Highway Trust Fund—not only today Put also as the appropriate foundation for any new user-based revenue system for surface transportation investment in the future—and offers the following overarching recommendation.
• Preserve the Highway Trust Fund mechanism and take any necessary actions to help ensure its security and sustainability in the near and longer term. This should include ensuring the integrity of the trust fund structure premised on the link between direct and indirect user fees and transportation spending upon which the HTF is based. It also should include continued efforts to reduce and minimize tax evasion and methods to align spending and receipts, with interest earned on any balances accruing to the HTF.