The lowest pump prices in years are inspiring some members of Congress to push for a higher gas tax to fund infrastructure projects.
As prices at the pump drop to the lowest levels in years, some lawmakers hope Congress might up the U.S. gas tax for the first time in more than two decades, CNN reported.
The U.S. benchmark oil price has dipped below $50 per barrel, marking the lowest price in nearly four years. Meanwhile, motorists across the country are paying less than $2.20 per gallon of gas on average when they fuel their vehicles. As a result, transportation experts, business lobbyist and lawmakers see now as the best chance to increase the 18.4-cents per gallon gas tax used to pay for highways and mass transit as they negotiate an extension on the federal infrastructure funding bill, according to CNN.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, for example, is proposing a 12-cent gas tax hike, offset by other tax cuts, that he’s co-sponsored with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut. The Senate’s No. 3 Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, also signaled a willingness to advance Corker’s proposal on the program.
President Barack Obama has advocated funding transportation projects by instead closing other tax loopholes—but his spokesman hasn’t close the door to a gas tax hike. “We don’t believe the best way to fund modernizing our infrastructure is to raise the gas tax,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. “But some people do and we’re willing to consider those proposals.”