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“First, [it] will bankrupt the federal Highway Trust Fund, leading to deep cuts to transit investments and to critical safety and congestion-relief funding. While our constituents would like to pay less at the pump, they don’t want to see the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, worsened rush hour traffic, and increasingly dangerous road conditions.
“Secondly, the fiscal damage to the Highway Trust Fund would not actually lead to a savings for families. Oil companies have no history of passing their own savings on to the consumer and we don’t believe they would do so now. The gas tax has remained stable for fifteen years, yet gas prices have steadily increased: clearly, the $0.18/gallon gas tax has little to do with the unusually high price at the pump. Waiving the federal gas tax will merely add to the already enormous profits of the oil industry while undermining our ability to invest in safer roads, cleaner fuels, and increased public transportation options.
“Third, Congress has begun to chart a new direction in energy policy — reducing demand for oil, improving the efficiency of cars and trucks, increasing our use of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources, and investing in a cleaner transportation infrastructure. These are the steps that we must take to reduce demand for oil, bring down the real cost of gasoline, and benefit consumers and the long-term health of our economy.”
Nice to see that some of our elected officials can still maintain a long term focus, even in an election year.
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