Gas Tax
Streetsblog Basics
Former U.S. DOT Chief on Worst-Case Scenario: Four Years of Extensions
To a certain extent, hope springs eternal in federal transportation circles. Even as state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations operate under the latest in a series of extensions of the 2005 law that governs road, transit, and bike-ped spending, few are willing to envision a future in which new legislation doesn't pass by next year.
April 19, 2010
The Gas Tax: A Trip Back in Legislative Time
As Tax Day prompts a rush of political rallies and media coverage, it's worth looking back at the history of the federal levy that helps pay for transportation projects: the gas tax.
April 15, 2010
Would the New Senate Fuel Tax Deal a Death Blow to the Transport Bill?
Eight Democrats yesterday joined nearly the entire transportation universe, from road-builders to transit advocates, to warn the three Senate authors of a new climate bill against raising gas taxes without using the money for infrastructure. Their message, translated from the often impenetrable language of Washington: Imposing new fuel fees that are not routed to transport projects could torpedo the next long-term federal bill -- which is already on life support.
April 6, 2010
8 Senate Dems Join Industry in a Gas-Tax Warning to Climate Bill’s Authors
As Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) prepare to unveil a new climate change measure that includes a tax on motor fuels, eight of their colleagues are urging the trio not to forget local transportation planning -- and warning that any new gas tax should be used to help pay for a new federal infrastructure bill, not redirected for other purposes.
April 6, 2010
Could Gas-Tax Bonds Pay For the Next Federal Transportation Bill?
House infrastructure committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), facing steep political odds in his push to pass a new six-year federal transportation bill this year, has begun to pitch an outside-the-box solution to the financing shortfall that is still stalling congressional action: Treasury bonds.
April 1, 2010
The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?
The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesias asserting that "a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes" and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel tax revenues mean that tax rates need to go even higher.
February 10, 2010
A Vow to ‘Bring Republicans to the Table’ for a New Transport Bill
Despite Senate Democratic efforts to move quickly on a new jobs bill that includes infrastructure investment and takes steps towards solving the nation's transportation financing dilemma, Congress has just two more weeks of work until time runs out on the latest short-term extension of the five-year-old law governing federal transport policy.
February 8, 2010
Pelosi: Gas Tax Hike Doesn’t Have Majority Support in Congress
After touring the Detroit Auto Show yesterday with fellow lawmakers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took one question yesterday: Why are Democrats not pursuing a federal gas tax hike, given its potential to cut carbon emissions and its support from auto industry players aiming to stoke demand for efficient cars?
January 12, 2010
LaHood to Congress: It’s Time to Talk About a Gas Tax Increase
As Congress maneuvers to end the political impasse over the next long-term national transportation bill, lawmakers are going to have to debate an increase in the federal gas tax, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today.
November 30, 2009
Think Roads Pay for Themselves? Think Again
The myth that U.S. roads "pay for themselves" thanks to user fees is a subject that's likely familiar to many Streetsblog readers -- but just how much of the nation's highway funding is provided by charging drivers?
November 24, 2009