FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2008
CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Opposes Increase in Federal Gas Tax, Tolling of Existing Lanes Proposed in Federal Government Report
Rejects Proposals in Recent Federal Government Report at Senate Hearing
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today re-stated her opposition to proposals in a federal government report that would raise the federal gasoline tax and expand the tolling of existing highways. Her comments were delivered today at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on a report released by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in January.
On the subject of a proposed increase in the gas tax, Sen. Hutchison said, “a twenty five cent or more increase is unacceptable. I hope that is dead on arrival here, and I will do everything I can to make sure that it is. In Texas, as a donor state, we forego needed infrastructure improvements every year by sending millions of gas dollars to other states.”
The report issued by the STB additionally suggests that the Congress couple increased tolling on existing federal highways with an increase in the federal gas tax.
“I am concerned about the views on tolling that were put forward,” said Sen. Hutchison. “I do support the right of local communities to build new infrastructure through tolling. I support tolling if it is going to create an additional lane, where you keep the freeways that are already built with the same number of free lanes. I just can’t support the proposal to toll existing lanes. The federal government and the states built these roads using federal funding with the commitment that they would remain freeways. These existing roads are a public good, built with public funding, and should not be converted to generate money for local entities to take away from the federal taxpayers.”
--END--
|
