Ending the Raid on the Transportation Fund

One of the frustrations with government that inspired me to run for office was the state’s continual raiding of the Transportation Fund. That’s the practice of using the gas tax to pay for projects other than roads and bridges. It wasn’t right, and when I arrived in the State Senate I learned just how big this problem was. At that time the state was raiding $50-60 MILLION out of the fund annually. I worked directly with Governor Douglas on a concerted effort to steadily reduce and end the raid on the Transportation Fund.

The result was a more transparent budget process that held government accountable. Today Vermonters can be confident the revenue allocated to transportation projects is no longer being spent on unrelated state needs. That’s a budgeting success that illustrates my approach and priorities. And I never held a press conference to take credit for it.