Even Republican presidential hopefuls now call for change. This hasn't swayed officials in the Bush administration, chief among them Mary Peters, secretary of the Department of Transportation. Peters, who doesn't believe that bicycles are transportation, joined a congressionally mandated commission this week in calling for massive upgrades to the nation's transportation infrastructure.
But how to pay for it? Nine members of the 12-member commission favor boosting the gas tax by 40 cents a gallon over five years. Peters joined Maria Cino, a former deputy secretary of transportation now organizing the 2008 Republican National Convention, in opposing higher taxes. Instead, Peters favors increased tolls and private-sector funding--which almost guarantees that the scale of upgrades required to deal with what one panel member called the "tsunami of freight" that will be hauled through highways in the coming years won't happen.
"Raising gas taxes won't improve traffic congestion," Peters said. "It will only perpetuate our ineffective reliance on fossil-based fuels to fund infrastructure and send more of Americans' hard-earned money to Washington to be squandered on earmarks and special-interest programs."
More importantly, the minority resistance is likely to tank this much needed initiative. A higher gas tax is highly unpopular with the American public. And it's a lightning rod for politicians. Without backing from the DOT, the initiative doesn't stand, in Rep. John Mica's words, "a snowball's chance in hell of passing."
Sources: Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News
