From
Platts:
In a US Congress where trench warfare ensues over every must-pass piece of legislation, the next battle could come over renewing the federal gasoline tax, which expires at the end of September.
After a formerly routine extension of the law authorizing the Federal Aviation Administration turned into a three-week standoff over federal labor laws, it is likely House Republicans will try a similar strategy over extending the gasoline tax and other federal highway programs, a key House Democrat said in an interview late last week.
"The Republicans will use the expiration of the program and the tax... for some sort of leverage or further blackmail," Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon said. DeFazio is the top Democrat on the House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. "If the ultra-right prevails, it has already been rumored they would end the gas tax, which would mean no more surface transportation trust fund."
The 18.4 cents/gal federal gasoline tax is the primary funding source for the federal Highway Trust Fund, which Washington funnels back to states to pay for road maintenance and construction. The fund has generated about $22 billion in receipts so far in fiscal 2011, compared to a total $32 billion for all of FY 2010, according to the Federal Highway Administration. The fund had a balance of $17.3 billion as of the end of June, including a $15 billion infusion from the general treasury last year to make up for a shortfall in the account.
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Much more at the link.
PB