Capitol Agenda for the Week of May 2: The President’s Gas Tax
Executives from trucking companies who frequently come to Washington to urge lawmakers to fund infrastructure projects say raising federal fuel taxes is the best approach. Their argument is simple: Paying more at the pump would be easier than tracking the miles on trucks and cars or paying more on tolls.
The revenue is desperately needed to fund maintenance projects along congested freight corridors, such as interstates 81, 95 and 10, to name a few. And the trucking industry is not alone on this.
For years, the roadbuilders, unions, engineer, and the business community have agreed increasing fuel taxes is the ideal source of revenue for infrastructure spending. The groups point to laboratories of democracy, such as Indiana, Tennessee and New Jersey, which recently raised their fuel taxes. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director of Transportation Infrastructure, Ed Mortimer, stressed the point before a Senate panel this year: “It comes down to political courage.”
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News“I know some members here have signed a pledge saying they didn’t want to raise revenue for anything. I think our belief is everyone needs to come into Congress as elected officials with an open mind and we need to look at this,” Mortimer added, referring to Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge.
The federal taxes, unchanged since 1993, stand at 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel and 18.4 cents for gasoline. Improved fuel economy in recent years has cut into the necessary revenue to ensure the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
President Donald Trump mentioned the gas tax during an interview with Bloomberg News, suggesting he would consider an increase. Press Secretary Sean Spicer quickly clarified Trump did not express support for it because “he was just relaying what another industry group had shared with him.” At least, for a few moments, it seemed the White House was backing the increase.
THE WEEK AHEAD (all times EDT):
May 2-4: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hosts the Household Goods Consumer Protection Advisory Group at U.S. Department of Transportation’s headquarters.
May 3, 10 a.m.: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meets to review proposals for streamlining reviews for infrastructure projects.
May 4 at 8 a.m.: The Ripon Society holds a discussion with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
May 5: The DC Ideas Fest hosts "Our City, Our Ideas, Our Future."
May 5: Funding authority for the federal government expires.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Mark Elias/Bloomberg NewsBIG BROWN: UPS Inc. struggled with currency exchange rates but benefited from a new treatment in taxes and wound up with a 2.4% gain in first-quarter net income and a 6.2% surge in global revenue.
AUTOMATION: Federal trucking regulators got a lot of questions at a public “listening session” on highly automated commercial vehicles, but they were quick to admit they have yet to come up with the answers to many of them.
REST BREAK: A meal and rest break provision sought by trucking industry leaders was not attached to legislation that would keep the federal government funded through the remainder of fiscal 2017.
BUZZ:
It’s not just Reps. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) vying for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairmanship to succeed Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) next year. There’s talk that a Republican from Pennsylvania also is interested in the job.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Reacting to Trump’s recent comments about infrastructure, New York magazine reminded readers, “the president says a lot of things.”
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I would think they would have priorities as to their own districts because that’s what we’re sent here to do, [which] is represent our district. So if something is hopeful to them, you’d think that they would overrule their leadership and vote for something that is good for the district. That’s generally where I come from.”
— Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) at the National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions conference in Washington on April 26.
FAVORITE VIDEO:
You may remember Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) from his work as the Democrat looking into the Trump-Russia connection. Here he is showcasing his fluency on transportation policy.
FAVORITE TWEET:
Keep Smiling, Keep Shining.
#HBD to my friend @CoryBooker! Thanks for always laughing at my jokes on the dais. #BipartisanBuddies pic.twitter.com/zQbW07KJDl — Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) April 27, 2017
Thanks for reading Capitol Agenda. We publish Tuesdays when Congress is in session. E-mail emulero@ttnews.com with tips. Follow us @eugenemulero and @transporttopics.
