Former DOT Chief to Congress: Raise Gas Tax 10¢, Index it
WASHINGTON — A way for Congress to ensure long-term funding for the country's highway system would be to approve a 10-cent gas tax increase and index the tax to inflation, former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Transport Topics May 13.
LaHood, co-chairman of the Building America’s Future nonprofit, was on Capitol Hill to support mayors from rural and urban regions who are here for Infrastructure Week to call on members of Congress to advance a multiyear, sustainable transportation plan.
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“What built America was the big pot of money that we call the Highway Trust Fund. That’s what built the interstates. That’s what built the bridges. That’s what made America No. 1,” LaHood said, adding, “The gas tax hasn’t been raised in 20 years.”
But LaHood's embrace of a fuels tax increase has yet to convince his former boss, President Obama, to support the idea. Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have said raising fuel taxes is not an option for them because the White House would not back it.
Trucking industry leaders and a large portion of the transportation sector support raising fuel taxes to fund infrastructure projects nationwide. Congress has several legislative days left to reauthorize federal transportation funding authority before that authority expires May 31.
Improvements in fuel efficiency and shifting driving trends have played a role in the trust fund’s looming shortfall.
