Senators Discuss Plausibility of Higher Fuel Taxes

Senators are talking about fuel tax increases to pay for transportation — if not actually embracing the idea.

James Inhofe (R-Oka.) said he wouldn’t take the possibility off the table, according to news reports.

Inhofe is chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee which has jurisdiction over any new highway spending plan, and he is expected to write a new reauthorization bill before the temporary funding measure passed last summer expires May 31.

Another prominent Republican senator, John Thune (S.D.), said Republicans shouldn’t rule out higher fuel taxes but added that he doubted there was support in Congress to raise the 18.4-cent gasoline and 24.4-cent diesel taxes, which have not been upped in 21 years.

Thune is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which will write those parts of a transportation reauthorization bill other than the parts that fund highways.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that with fuel prices at a low not seen in years, now is the time to raise the taxes, Politico reported.

Durbin also said, however, that low- and middle-income drivers would have to be protected from the “regressive” nature of new gas taxes with some sort of tax relief, Politico said.

Over in the House, however, higher fuel taxes are off the table, along with a tax on miles traveled, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said recently. Shuster is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that writes transportation funding bills.