Posted on 01/13/2015 2:11:14 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Gas prices are the lowest they've been in five years — a welcome relief for many drivers.
But now that fuel prices are falling, some lawmakers are talking in a serious way about raising the gas tax — Republican lawmakers.
The debate is at an early stage, and it’s fair to say House conservatives will hate the idea. But a few powerful GOP senators are signaling they're open to the idea. Even House Speaker John Boehner, who personally opposes raising the gas tax, hasn't ruled it out.
“Some Republicans in the Senate are speaking up,” says Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent. “[They’re saying] oil prices are low, the federal highway trust fund is dead broke and will be in the future, we have crumbling infrastructure, and we absolutely need reform.”
The current tax on gasoline, which hasn’t been raised since 1993, sits at 18.4 cents per gallon — 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. The revenue generated from the gas tax goes to the Highway Trust Fund, which was was established in 1956 and is the primary way that federal highway and transit programs are funded.
Because national road infrastructure is crumbling, and the highway trust fund is in a perennial state of financial crisis, several Republicans say it's time to raise the tax that Americans pay at the pump to repair roads and bridges.
Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is proposing that the gas tax be raised six cents in 2016, six cents in 2017, and then be tied to inflation after that. But he’s not exactly calling it a gas tax.
Zwillich says GOP lawmakers like Corker are looking to rebrand the gas tax to avoid political backlash, saying that it is a “user fee” that drivers pay per gallon for using America’s highways, bridges and roads. But even that language change isn't a slam dunk.
“At the end of the day ... people aren’t going to jump out there and say they’re for a user fee,” Corker told Zwillich.
But though it’s a bit out of character for Republicans to get behind a tax increase, Corker told Zwillich that some GOP lawmakers are privately supporting a gas tax increase because people understand that the Highway Trust Fund and the nation’s infrastructure must “be dealt with.”
“[House Speaker John] Boehner and his spokespeople have said, ‘I’m against raising the gas tax,’” says Zwillich. “But he was asked specifically if it was off the table in any kind of tax reform deal and he has not ruled it out. That’s interesting. He could say, ‘That’s never going to happen,’ but he says, ‘I’m against it.’ And the term ‘user fee’ is important too.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Republican chairman of the Finance Committee, the body that controls tax policy in the Senate, is also hoping to recast the gas tax in a new light.
“I think we’re going to change the rhetoric on that,” he says. “I would call it a user fee. I prefer not to increase taxes. To me that’s a user fee: People who use the highways ought to pay for them — that’s a small price to pay to have the best highway system in the world. That may be where we’ll have to go.”
In December, the US Department of Transportation noted that the highway fund was nearing insolvency. That's actually been the case for some time, but lawmakers are finally recognizing that something has to be done.
“Congress has been patching a hole in the Federal Highway Trust Fund,” Zwillich says. “It’s a deepening hole that Congress keeps shoveling money into. You could say that they could just stop doing that, but every district in every state in every locality in America has roads and bridges. There’s just no way to stop spending on it.”
Zwillich says Corker is pushing the gas tax as a way to permanently reform the trust fund — instead of just temporarily “patching the hole.” But other GOP lawmakers are pushing for other reforms that don’t include an increase in the gas tax.
“Let’s be honest: Even though Boehner hasn’t ruled it out, he’s going to get a lot of pushback from conservatives in the House — and that’s where tax policy is really written," Zwillich says.
Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California, a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, doesn’t believe that the House of Representatives will raise the gas tax — at least not anytime soon.
“California has the highest gas tax in the country, and the last thing I want to do is raise taxes on people, especially those who are low income,” Rep. Nunes says.
So will there be a showdown between House and Senate Republicans? Zwillich says it’s possible.
“This is a really serious debate that’s starting, and it’s Republicans that are doing it,” he says. “I think this is all about timing. There is a major tax reform effort in Congress coming down the pike — it might be worth a trillion dollars or more. Republicans and Democrats are spotting the opportunity and think there’s no time like now. With gas at $50 a barrel, they think they have to move.”
This story is based on an interview from PRI's The Takeaway, a public radio program that invites you to be part of the American conversation.
Joni Erst, we have a hog for you, take care of business.
The Government DOESN”T NEED MORE OF OUR MONEY!!!!!
We need to SHRINK GOVERNMENT!!!
Hmmm. Great idea, Orrin. Let's look at some other things this could be applied to....
Air Recycling Fee People who breathe the air ought to pay for it — that’s a small price to pay to enjoy the finest air supply in the world. That may be where we’ll have to go.
Pedestrian Fee People who are ambulatory ought to pay for it — that’s a small price to pay to enjoy the privilege of moving around the best country in the world. That may be where we’ll have to go.
Non-Ambulatory Person Fee People who choose to not move around ought to pay for it— that’s a small price to pay to enjoy moments of rest or simply not moving around the best country in the world. That may be where we’ll have to go.
Personal Existence Fee People who exist ought to pay for it — that’s a small price to pay to enjoy the priviledge of being alive. That may be where we’ll have to go.
Where you will have to go, Orrin, along with your similarly minded compatriots and lobbyists, is AWAY. You people were put into office to halt and roll back the insanity of the past 6 years, and the first thing you people do is look for ways to perpetuate it.
These are probably the same people who say "I'm personally against abortion, but ..."
There are far too many "Republicans" who never met a tax they didn't like.
So you would rather pay much more for road use just for the ‘pleasure’ of not calling that cost a tax?
The highest combined state and local gas tax is around 70 cents per gallon. Even if you were only getting 15 MPG that represents a ‘toll’ of under 5 cents per mile.
I prefer a 5 cents cost to a 20 cents cost regardless of what that cost is called.
Punish the innocent. Morons. First, look at every penny you spend out of the Highway Trust Fund. Look for all the waste, fraud and abuse. Do your d*mn jobs first, before asking us to pay more.
Republicans, no wonder your brand sucks. You've earned it.
This is the priority of the GOP - raising the gas tax?
Not a dime’s bit of difference between the two parties.
They just took the oath a week or so ago and already trying to raise taxes. Already backing off on repealing OCare, already talking about passing amnesty, already passed a $1.2 trillion Cromnibus giving Obama everything he wants.
The Revenue from the Gasoline Tax is not dependent on the price of oil, is a tax per gallon. These GOPe scum hope you won’t notice since the price at the pump has returned to pre-obama price. Come on Sarah-Ted give us a real choice.
To revise and extend my remarks, even to include extraneous material.
Run for Congress and you too can have that privilege.
Even Levin griped about opposition to this scum bag. He gave us Buzzy Ginsberg, recommended her to Billery.
$.98 - $.89 < $.10
I am against this, but if you have to raise revenue based on fuel do it with an import tariff on crude. This would actually benefit US oil workers. Retail gas taxes are stupid, stupid, stupid when it comes to fuel taxes.
The revenue generated from the gas tax goes to the Highway Trust Fund, which was was established in 1956 and is the primary way that federal highway and transit programs are funded.
Diesel Fuel is taxed 6 cents more per gallon than is gasoline. That money goes for Deficit Reduction, not to the Highway Trust Fund.
Bill Clinton and Congress passed the higher tax diesel because trucks don't vote, automobile drivers do vote.
Any increase in the diesel tax is an indirect tax and is hidden from the voters. Take a look at the number of 18 wheelers on the highway. You buy the goods they haul, you pay for their taxes.
The author is either ignorant or is lying about where the tax money goes.
I get beat-up EVERY TIME that I call for a gas tax increase...so I figured I’d call for the alternative - since we WILL get one or the other.
Looks like that’s not too popular either.
An import tariff on crude is the only one that makes sense.
Call for fiscal responsibility. With that, more taxes or pay by the mile schemes won't be needed.
“Call for fiscal responsibility. With that, more taxes or pay by the mile schemes won’t be needed.”
Yes, if that were a valid third option - but it seems to be locked out, and we wind up with either the gas tax or tolling - certainly in Texas, at least.
Ha Ha! You are correct we will get one or the other and you will get beat up for suggesting either.
My concern with tolls is that most lead to massive tracking as the systems (as in Europe) would likely be based on license plate recognition. That would provide a large database of people’s movements (probably with pictures/facial recognition).
Tolls always end up more expensive than even the least economical gas guzzler would pay in tax, and would probably rise faster with less resistance (politicians: “but it’s a private corporation, what can we do?”).
As roads do need to be paid for the gas tax is probably the easiest and least intrusive. If they do increase the gas tax than at they should remove the gap between diesel and gasoline. That would allow diesel powered cars a fair shake in the market (the days of agricultural diesel engines are long gone; modern diesels can provide all the performance of gasoline with none of the rattle of diesels of old).
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