Gas Tax Increase Proposed in Senate

Finance Committee May Move Short-Term Patch; House Republicans Back Away from Postal Reform  The balance remaining in the Highway Trust Fund is projected to have insufficient revenue to pay states for ongoing construction activities within the next few weeks.  Today, Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation that would raise the gas tax – currently at 18.4 cents per gallon – and the diesel tax – at 24.4 cents per gallon – by 12 cents each, and then index the taxes to keep pace with inflation and help mitigate the insolvency of the trust fund. The increase would be phased-in over two years, raising 6 cents per year. Their plan calls for offsetting the tax increases by permanently extending six federal tax breaks that expired this year. AGC supports the plan set forth by Senators Murphy and Corker.  A full statement from AGC CEO Steve Sandherr can be found here. The Senate Finance Committee continues to discuss both short- and long-term Highway Trust Fund fixes.  Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has indicated that there is growing interest among members of his committee  to pass a six-month patch and then use that time to agree on a broader set of reforms and pay-fors to allow for a multiyear reauthorization of MAP-21. Also this week, House Republicans abandoned their plan to pay for an eight-month extension of MAP-21 with savings from reforms to the United State Postal Service. AGC continues to educate members of Congress about the necessity of avoiding disruptions in Highway Trust Fund payments this summer and the need to address the solvency of the trust fund to allow for a robust reauthorization of MAP-21. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.