Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) proposed a raise and index of the fuel tax in order to preserve the user pays principle and keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent.
The trucking industry was quick to commend their efforts. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) believes a well-funded, well-maintained transportation system is essential for safety and for economic growth, said ATA Chairman Phil Byrd, president of Bulldog Hiway Express. While we have been looking for acceptable alternatives to the fuel tax, we believe it is still the best way to generate the revenue we need to repair and maintain our roads and bridges.
The proposal by Sens. Corker and Murphy would raise the fuel tax six cents a year over two years, then index the tax to inflation. The federal fuel tax has not been raised since 1993, and since then the revenue it generates has lost nearly half its buying power.
For too long, Congress has shied away from taking serious action to update our country’s aging infrastructure,î said Sen. Murphy. We’re currently facing a transportation crisis that will only get worse if we don’t take bold action to fund the Highway Trust Fund. I know raising the gas tax isn’t an easy choice, but we’re not elected to make easy decisions – we’re elected to make the hard ones.
To offset the revenue raised from increasing the fuel tax, Murphy and Corker propose providing net tax relief for American families and businesses. An example would be extending some of the tax provisions in the tax extenders bill that already have broad, bipartisan support, creating potentially billions of dollars in permanent tax relief over the next 10 years alone, the senators suggest.
