House GOP Leader McCarthy Opposes Gas Tax Increase
Incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said June 22 he wouldn’t support increasing the federal tax as a legislative solution for shoring up a federal highway account that funds highway programs at the state level.
“That’s a Democrat idea, continue to raise taxes on the families going forward,” McCarthy said on a Fox News Sunday morning show. “I believe one of the options that we put forward two years ago was an idea for a new funding source. …Open up federal lands for exploration, federal government, put that into resources to help build the bridges and roads that we need.”
With the Highway Trust Fund projected to run out of money as early as late July, transportation leaders have been scrambling to approve a legislative fix to keep the fund solvent into the new year. McCarthy shot down the gas-tax increase idea just days after two senators called for raising the gas tax to boost the Highway Trust Fund, a position endorsed by the trucking industry.
The plan unveiled by Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy and Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, which has yet to be considered in committee, would increase the gas and diesel taxes by 6 cents each year for the next two years. The increase would be indexed to inflation, using the Consumer Price Index.
Transportation experts have indicated the trust fund would need more than $10 billion to remain solvent for several months. Congress has not raised taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel in more than two decades. The tax on gas is 18.4 cents per gallon, and the diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon.
On June 20, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told state departments of Transportation directors: “If the trust fund becomes insolvent, DOT will likely need to delay some reimbursements owed to your agency.
“We understand and regret that such measures may be necessary as the current construction season is ongoing. We have and will continue to sound the alarm bell that hundreds of projects and thousands of jobs are at risk.”
