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The National Surface Transportation Policy & Revenue Study Commission on January 15, 2008, released a report calling for higher revenues from gasoline taxes and tolls to fund improvements in the nation's transportation system. Meanwhile, the report is receiving stinging criticism from a senior Senate lawmaker because the report did not follow the congressional mandate given to the commission, calling the report a waste of taxpayer money.
According to the commission report, fixing the nation's system will take more money, but it will also take increased dedication by local, state and federal officials to cuts costs and speed up the completion of necessary projects. Jack Schenendorf, the commission's chairman, warned against failure to make necessary changes. "At the end of the day, failure to act would be catastrophic for this nation. We have to act," said Schenendorf at a press briefing in Washington, D.C. He said without increased funding and a fundamental change in the way revenues are collected, parts of the transportation system could suffer the same fate as the levees in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Currently, the federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. The study calls for increasing that tax by as much as another 40 cents per gallon.
Schenendorf, a transportation policy lawyer, acknowledged that calling for higher gasoline taxes without changing the way states and the federal government conduct transportation policy would not win support from the American public. He said higher taxation would take political leadership in the form of local discussions to explain the necessary changes in the interstate transportation system. "No one likes to see their taxes or tolls or fees raised, but to some extent there's no free lunch," said Steve Heminger, a commissioner and executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission of California. He said the public should be asked if they would support higher fuel taxes in exchange for lower traffic fatalities, shorter commutes, safer roadways and better quality of life.
Paul Weyrich, a member of the commission and long-time conservative activist, said he sees no other alternative to raising gasoline taxes to support rebuilding the nation's transportation infrastructure. The public will have to understand that better jobs and closer families will result from investments paid for by higher fuel taxes, said Frank McArdle, another commissioner, who also represents the General Contractors Association of New York.
Meanwhile, the federal study is drawing fire from the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) on January 11 said the commission's upcoming report to Congress is full of bad ideas and a waste of tax dollars.
Grassley said a majority of the 12-member study commission reportedly will sign off on raising the 18.4 cents per gallon tax, despite the commission's mandate to find non-tax alternatives to the long-term financial stability of the highway trust fund. Raising the gas tax puts the brunt of the long-term trust fund expenses on automobile drivers, when diesel trucks and other heavy vehicles also use the highways, Grassley said in a statement.
Posted February 5, 2008.
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