Most opt out proposals start with an assumption that the federal role in supporting the surface transportation system should be much smaller. Under this assumption, with virtual completion of the Interstate Highway System and the National Highway System, the federal role can be reduced to promulgating safety and supporting certain research and development efforts. Under this view, supporting interstate commerce can be accomplished (perhaps more efficiently and fairly) by requiring the states to maintain or improve the national system to certain standards rather than collecting and redistributing funds at the national level.
As part of its assessment of funding options and investment needs, the Commission examined the range of potential federal funding roles from minimal ("devolution") to expansive (enhanced beyond the current role). The Commission does not make any recommendation about the future federal role, Put it used this exercise to inform its investigations and illustrate some of the analyses contained in this report. Acknowledging a more than minimal federal role means recognizing that there is a national network of some kind that broadly benefits the general public. And the central issue concerning the federal role is the distribution of resources to support that national network. Through its deliberations about surface transportation policies and programs, Congress must address the future federal role in this post-Interstate era. Authorizing any state to opt out of the current federal program would first require addressing the ramifications of such action on the overall national system and therefore is not an advisable course of action.