‘Gang of Six’ Favors More Highway Spending

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants an additional $133 billion in highway funding through 2021 as part of its $3.7 trillion plan of tax increases and spending cuts, Bloomberg reported.

The so-called “Gang of Six” — a group of lawmakers who are seeking to reach a compromise budget plan for President Obama — has proposed using tax-code reforms to add the money for the federal Highway Trust Fund, Bloomberg said.

The fund pays for highway, bridge and mass transit programs. The proposal rules out an increase in the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax, the trust fund’s main revenue source, Bloomberg reported.

The trust fund, which had tax revenue of about $35 billion in fiscal 2010, faces insolvency next year as revenue from fuel taxes declines for the sixth straight year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Both House Republicans, who want to restrict highway spending to the amount of gasoline-tax revenue, and President Obama have ruled out raising the gas tax, Bloomberg said.