A Republican Senator Thinks the Gas Tax Should Be Raised, and You Should Too from The Infrastructurist
Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio is retiring. And in his last days, he’s letting it all out. Including his strong view that the federal gas tax needs to be raised (just a reminder: it hasn’t been raised in nearly two decades). In a letter to members of President Obama’s debt commission, Voinovich laid out his argument:
Fuel taxes today fund the vast majority of the federal government’s investment in infrastructure projects… Due to dwindling fuel tax receipts, Congress has had to transfer billions of dollars from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund to maintain our current level of federal involvement….The lack of investment in our crumbling bridge, highway, and transit systems is a missed opportunity for the creation of thousands of well paying jobs and long term economic growth for our Nation. At an Ohio conference last month, Voinovich said, “I believe Americans are willing to pay a higher gas tax to create jobs, improve our infrastructure and better our climate. And many of my conservative colleagues do not consider that gas tax as a tax, but as a user fee.” So if Democrats are supposedly in favor of raising the tax, and many Republicans aren’t opposed to it, then what’s the holdup?
Source: National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA)