Bush Opposes Gas Tax Hike to Fund Bridge Repairs

President Bush said Thursday that he was opposed to funding bridge repairs by raising the federal gasoline tax, as proposed Wednesday by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), the Associated Press reported.

Instead, Bush urged Congress to reexamine the way it doles out federal funds for infrastructure projects, AP said.
 
“Before we raise taxes, which could affect economic growth, I would strongly urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities,” Bush said at the press conference.

Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on Wednesday proposed raising the federal gasoline tax by five cents to help pay for bridge repairs, news services said.
 
Speaking from a location nearby the collapsed Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis, Oberstar said the increase in the gas tax would last for three years and raise about $25 billion for a proposed bridge-repair trust fund, the Associated Press reported.
 
Alternatively, Oberstar said the bridge repairs could be funded via a three-year, $1-per-barrel tax on crude oil, Bloomberg News reported. Oberstar said the proposed oil tax would generate about $16 billion to repair more than 6,000 “structurally deficient” bridges that are part of the National Highway System, Bloomberg said.
 
Oberstar said the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will discuss the issue of bridge repairs during a hearing scheduled for Sept. 5, after Congress returns from its summer recess.
 
“We cannot wait for another tragedy,” Oberstar said in a statement.  “We must act, and act quickly.”
 
The Aug. 1 collapse of the I-35 bridge, part of a major freight route that carriers traffic across the Mississippi River, has so far claimed at least 5 lives, according to AP.