Posted on 01/15/2008 2:56:00 PM PST by BradtotheBone
A federal panel today recommended a steep increase in motor fuel taxes and an increased emphasis on mass transit to meet the nation's transportation needs and repair its deteriorating infrastructure.
In its report, the 12-member National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, appointed by Congress in 2005, recommended increasing the federal gasoline tax by as much as 40 cents a gallon, at a rate of 5 to 8 cents per year.
The current federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and the state tax is 20 cents. The price of a gallon of regular gasoline has hovered near $3 for months.
The report, Transportation for Tomorrow, also recommends congestion pricing — tolls that increase with the volume or speed of traffic — in metropolitan areas.
Other tactics suggested include "a freight fee for freight projects and ticket taxes for passenger rail improvements," according to the commission's announcement.
Three of the commission members, including the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters, dissented from the conclusions.
"Raising gas taxes won't improve traffic congestion. It will only perpetuate our ineffective reliance on fossil-based fuels," Peters said in a prepared statement.
"A better way forward is to provide incentives to states willing to pursue more efficient approaches and to invest federal funds more effectively to give commuters real relief from gridlock," she said. Among those approaches, the dissenters suggested tolls and congestion pricing.
A statement from Gov. Rick Perry called the study recommendations "incredibly short-sighted" and said that "raising taxes is a surefire way to stifle growth, and limiting states' freedom to innovate will only make it worse."
As an alternative to tax increases, Perry and the late Texas Transportation Commission chairman Ric Williamson have advocated strongly that Texas enter long-term contracts with private companies to build and operate toll roads.
Perry said he also opposes the report's recommendations "curtailing states' ability to leverage the capital and innovation of the private sector."
Among the other recommendations by the 12-member commission:
— Work to cut traffic fatalities in half over the next 17 years by urging states to embrace new strategies to improve safety.
— Ease traffic congestion by expanding state and local public transit systems and highway capacity.
— Protect the environment by smoothing traffic flow, encouraging alternative commute options such as carpooling and public transit and promoting energy-efficient construction and lighting in transit systems to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
— Seek to develop new energy sources with new research programs costing $200 million annually over the next decade.
The proposals for improving the nation's transportation system, which are expected to cost $225 billion each year for the next 50 years, is at risk of stalling because of internal division. The commission's chairwoman, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and two other members oppose gas tax increases and were issuing a dissenting opinion to the report that said private-sector investment and tolls would be sufficient.
The gas tax has not been increased since 1993, and recent efforts by Congress to raise it have faltered over the objections of the Bush administration. The tax increase is designed to take effect in 2009, after President Bush leaves office.
It is time for a "new beginning," the report said, calling the current strategy of patchwork repair "no longer acceptable."
The report also calls for the country to rebuild and expand its rail network to meet a growing demand for alternatives to congested highways and to promote partnerships between the public and private sectors at U.S. ports.
The commission was formed by Congress in 2005 to study the future needs of the nation's surface transportation system, which includes roads, mass-transit systems, ports and rail lines — as well as to recommend funding options.
The report comes as state governments and several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, are calling on the federal government to raise gas taxes to pay for substantial transportation improvements. The Minneapolis bridge collapse, which killed 13 people and injured about 100, also shone a national spotlight on the unsteady condition of the nation's roads and bridges and drew new calls for additional spending.
The Bush administration has said that raising taxes won't cut congestion and creates additional risks for congressional pork, such as Alaska's infamous multimillion dollar "Bridge to Nowhere," which has been scuttled.
In its report, the commission unanimously agreed that measures of accountability were needed to keep watch over state and federal spending.
You are WRONG - They get the tax money to build the road and charge confiscatory rates to move freight on the roads. It raises prices on everything - This slows the economy.
The president has not used the power of the office to campaign this issue. He has lead us toward hydrogen. How many nuclear plants has he spoken for? His WH turned down the opportunity to mandate flex-fuel at $100 per car. Of course the dems do what they do, nothing. It takes to same cajones on fuel as he showed on the WOT.
greas’n up is a given anymore
The increase in the federal gas tax is just the tip of the iceberg.
Aside from reccomendations for states to increase their gas taxes they also want your car to be equipped with technology so that the government can track the miles you drive.
Goodbye America, hello good ole USSR.
Who do you think will suffer the most with this gasoline tax increase? You got it, the poor. I thought the dhimmicraps were all in favor of helping the poor.
Google "Bush Nuclear Power" and you'll see how bogus the BS is.
Nah, rural and suburban will take the biggest hit. Every candidate should be asked if they support this, starting tonight in the dim debate but certainly to include every republican, especially McNut.
To think that our ancestors started talking revolution over a tax on tea. Now we wimpily take anything the feds dish out.
I’ll do that. By the way, I’m a dudette.
Some day, this nonsense has to end.
Congestion tolling is a particularly heinous concept. the idea is that you charge the highest possible tolls for cars using the road during rush hour, the idea being that you simply force people to take some other route, or, you force them onto your loot rail system instead.
The problem is that the transit systems rarely go where people work, and the tolls simply punish the people who are guilty of nothing more than trying to hold down a job.
Exactly
My apologies.
I look forward to it. I'm so ready for a plug-in and let the Saudies eat sand.
No problem. The net is a great equalizer. LOL!
It will. First we have to put India and China on wheels so they will know what they are missing when the oil is gone.
will the Dems propose a windfall “tax” on the profits the US Govt. will reap? sarc/
As we go to alternate fuel engines, expect your road taxes to be levied in a number of other ways including more traffic citations for everything from seat belt violations to turn signals to license plate holders.
I’ve even heard of tickets because the driver had something hanging from the rear view mirror. The highwaymen will need to bring in the dollars one way or another and we are all to be made guilty of something to justify an arbitrary $175 fee.
The grease will be another 5 bucks!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.