1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21164Updated May 19, 2003Highway Finance: RABAs Double-edgedSwordnae redactedSpecialist in TransportationResources, Science, and Industry DivisionSummaryThe debate over a possible re
2、duction in federal highway program spending duringFY2003 has ended. Congress has chosen to overrule provisions of law that would havereduced the FY2003 spending level to $23.2 billion, and has instead settled on $31.8billion, the same as the FY2002 level. In early 2002, it appeared that a major redu
3、ctionin highway program spending was in the offing. An Office of Management and Budgetcalculation in the Presidents budget indicated that the RABA adjustment for FY2003would be negative. The Administration and Congress were not proposing a cutback.Rather a complex financing mechanism known as Revenu
4、e Aligned Budget Authority(RABA) was proving the famous law of unintended consequences. Predictions madeat the time RABA was created by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century asamended (TEA-21)(P.L. 105-178 & P.L. 105-206) saw it as an ever growing source offunding for the highway progra
