Keith and stuff
06-19-2014, 09:15 AM
It is a traditional season when the price of gas tends to increase. There are even more problems in the Middle East than usual so oil prices might be increasing. Some states still have primaries and the general elections happen in November. Yet, these two Senators say that one of the most important things that the federal government can do right now is increase taxes by 65%... :rolleyes:
Republican Senator Bob Corker and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy are teaming up to try to increase the federal gas tax by 65% and then tie it to inflation in hopes that Congress never deals with the issue again, it just increases automatically forever, on its own. They are pushing this, despite the fact that gas taxes increased in so many states over the last couple years. Many states already have automatic increases written into their gas tax and diesel tax laws :( We don't need it in the federal law!
BTW, you might remember Sen. Corker as he is known as one of the largest supporters of off the wall tax increases in Washington. For example, he was one of the biggest supporters of Sen. Enzi's Internet Sales Tax proposal.
Corker, Murphy tee up bipartisan proposal to increase gas tax
By SCOTT WONG and BURGESS EVERETT | 6/18/14 3:30 PM EDT
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/corker-murphy-tee-up-bipartisan-proposal-to-increase-gas-tax-108028.html
Corker, a Tennessee Republican, and Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, pitched a bold plan that calls for federal gasoline and diesel tax increases to shore up the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for most federal transportation programs mostly through a tax on gasoline.
It’s music to the ears of asphalt and concrete interests, who have been clamoring for lawmakers to take the reins of a proposal to hike the gas tax. Though there are other gas tax proposals fermenting on Capitol Hill, all of them have been proposed by Democrats.
But the former Chattanooga mayor said he was fed up with Congress coming up with short-term fixes while the nation’s roads and bridges continued to crumble.
(Also on POLITICO: Epicenter of the McDaniel earthquake)
“I finally got to a point that I realized that this cannot go on,” Corker told reporters at a news conference. “It’s time for us to finally deal with this issue.”
“We are sick and tired of Congress talking about fixing our transportation funding shortfall and avoiding specifics simply because the solutions are politically uncomfortable,” added Murphy. “Money is not going to fall off trees or sprout out of the ground to fill the funding gap that exists today.”
The Murphy-Corker plan would hike gasoline and diesel taxes by six cents in each of the next two years, for a total increase of 12 cents. That would raise roughly $164 billion over the next decade, filling the highway fund’s revenue shortfall. The plan also would tie the gas tax to inflation, using the Consumer Price Index, to keep the fund in the black.
Corker says he’s received assurances their plan would not violate Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge that nearly every Senate Republican has signed.
“We have certified that to be true,” Corker said.
But Murphy said he’s discussed the plan with Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), EPW Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — all of whom will play critical roles in negotiations on a longer-term fix to the trust fund after the November election.
So far, the Chamber of Commerce, International Union of Operating Engineers, AAA, American Trucking Associations, and the bipartisan Building America’s Future are all on board.
But the Club for Growth dismissed the plan as a “$164 billion dollar tax increase, plain and simple.”
“A gas tax hike would be both bad policy and terribly anti-growth,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement. “Senator Corker and Senator Murphy have essentially decided that throwing more money into a black hole is a good path forward. It’s not. Rather than perpetuate this failed system, Congress should devolve highway funding to the states and let them fund their own infrastructure needs.”
Retiring Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), perhaps the staunchest of fiscal conservatives in the chamber, said the proposal would make sense if wasteful spending is cut from transportation programs.
“User-pay is the way to go when building highways,” Coburn said. “But with it they ought to eliminate the 20 percent of the transportation fund that’s not spent on building roads but are mandates by a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington and congressmen that don’t allow you to do it.”
Coburn has previously backed a gas-tax increase as has Sen. Mike Enzi. The Wyoming Republican declined to endorse Corker-Murphy Wednesday but said: “The more plans that get thrown out [there], the better off we’ll be.”
Reid said he’s always been in favor of proposals that bring in more revenue. “Gas tax is something, oil tax is something, repatriation. I’ve looked at TIGER grants. Anything,” he said. “I appreciate two people trying to move forward — it’s important for our country.”
And how important is it that Corker’s name is on the plan?
“Bob Corker is always someone who tries to work together,” Reid said, “so I’m happy he did it.”
Republican Senator Bob Corker and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy are teaming up to try to increase the federal gas tax by 65% and then tie it to inflation in hopes that Congress never deals with the issue again, it just increases automatically forever, on its own. They are pushing this, despite the fact that gas taxes increased in so many states over the last couple years. Many states already have automatic increases written into their gas tax and diesel tax laws :( We don't need it in the federal law!
BTW, you might remember Sen. Corker as he is known as one of the largest supporters of off the wall tax increases in Washington. For example, he was one of the biggest supporters of Sen. Enzi's Internet Sales Tax proposal.
Corker, Murphy tee up bipartisan proposal to increase gas tax
By SCOTT WONG and BURGESS EVERETT | 6/18/14 3:30 PM EDT
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/corker-murphy-tee-up-bipartisan-proposal-to-increase-gas-tax-108028.html
Corker, a Tennessee Republican, and Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, pitched a bold plan that calls for federal gasoline and diesel tax increases to shore up the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for most federal transportation programs mostly through a tax on gasoline.
It’s music to the ears of asphalt and concrete interests, who have been clamoring for lawmakers to take the reins of a proposal to hike the gas tax. Though there are other gas tax proposals fermenting on Capitol Hill, all of them have been proposed by Democrats.
But the former Chattanooga mayor said he was fed up with Congress coming up with short-term fixes while the nation’s roads and bridges continued to crumble.
(Also on POLITICO: Epicenter of the McDaniel earthquake)
“I finally got to a point that I realized that this cannot go on,” Corker told reporters at a news conference. “It’s time for us to finally deal with this issue.”
“We are sick and tired of Congress talking about fixing our transportation funding shortfall and avoiding specifics simply because the solutions are politically uncomfortable,” added Murphy. “Money is not going to fall off trees or sprout out of the ground to fill the funding gap that exists today.”
The Murphy-Corker plan would hike gasoline and diesel taxes by six cents in each of the next two years, for a total increase of 12 cents. That would raise roughly $164 billion over the next decade, filling the highway fund’s revenue shortfall. The plan also would tie the gas tax to inflation, using the Consumer Price Index, to keep the fund in the black.
Corker says he’s received assurances their plan would not violate Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge that nearly every Senate Republican has signed.
“We have certified that to be true,” Corker said.
But Murphy said he’s discussed the plan with Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), EPW Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — all of whom will play critical roles in negotiations on a longer-term fix to the trust fund after the November election.
So far, the Chamber of Commerce, International Union of Operating Engineers, AAA, American Trucking Associations, and the bipartisan Building America’s Future are all on board.
But the Club for Growth dismissed the plan as a “$164 billion dollar tax increase, plain and simple.”
“A gas tax hike would be both bad policy and terribly anti-growth,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement. “Senator Corker and Senator Murphy have essentially decided that throwing more money into a black hole is a good path forward. It’s not. Rather than perpetuate this failed system, Congress should devolve highway funding to the states and let them fund their own infrastructure needs.”
Retiring Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), perhaps the staunchest of fiscal conservatives in the chamber, said the proposal would make sense if wasteful spending is cut from transportation programs.
“User-pay is the way to go when building highways,” Coburn said. “But with it they ought to eliminate the 20 percent of the transportation fund that’s not spent on building roads but are mandates by a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington and congressmen that don’t allow you to do it.”
Coburn has previously backed a gas-tax increase as has Sen. Mike Enzi. The Wyoming Republican declined to endorse Corker-Murphy Wednesday but said: “The more plans that get thrown out [there], the better off we’ll be.”
Reid said he’s always been in favor of proposals that bring in more revenue. “Gas tax is something, oil tax is something, repatriation. I’ve looked at TIGER grants. Anything,” he said. “I appreciate two people trying to move forward — it’s important for our country.”
And how important is it that Corker’s name is on the plan?
“Bob Corker is always someone who tries to work together,” Reid said, “so I’m happy he did it.”