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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the federal government has to look at raising the gasoline tax to pay for public works improvements if the public supports paying for them, according to a "Meet the Press" interview that aired Sunday. The Republican governor appeared on the NBC show with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to advocate for more federal public works spending as part of a coalition they formed last year. The interview was taped Friday. Host David Gregory asked Schwarzenegger whether an increase in the federal 18.4-cent per gallon gasoline tax is an appropriate way...

The gas tax proposal advanced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm last week would be the right fuel for Michigan's crumbling roads. The Legislature's job will be to refine her plan -- and make it part of a larger overhaul of transportation spending so that current road funding, which is badly battered, gets the repair it desperately needs. Ms. Granholm's proposal would shift gas taxes from a per-gallon levy to a percentage tax tied to the wholesale price of gasoline. It would work much like the 6 percent state sales tax now collected on gasoline and other items.

Panel wants fuel taxes hiked to fund highwaysBy JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Updated 04:20 p.m., January 1, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by a federal commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads. **SNIP** With motorists driving less and buying less fuel, the current 18.4 cents a gallon gas tax and 24.4 cents a gallon diesel tax fail to raise enough to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs. **SNIP** A...

A proposed gasoline tax hike to fix the state's crumbling roads and bridges is pitting road builders against gasoline station owners, who say it would give Michigan the highest tax in the nation. With the proposed hike being considered by the lame duck state Legislature, Michigan would jump ahead of California, the nation's current No. 1... "It's the last thing this ailing economy needs right now," ... "Cheap fuel prices are fueling the (economic) activity we have now. Taxing gasoline to fix roads is an old way of doing it." A recent poll of truckers ranked Michigan interstates as the...

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is proposing a 2-cent increase in the state gasoline tax to help pay for road and bridge projects that could create jobs for thousands of Oregonians. At a legislative hearing, the Democratic governor said he expects vigorous debate on his gas tax plan. But he said public works programs are the most effective way to get people back to work in this struggling economy. Kulongoski's plan also calls for doubling the vehicle titling fee to $110, raising the registration fee from $27 a year to $81 a year and creating a $100-a-year fee for titling cars...

The debate over skyrocketing gas prices and what impact, if any, that should have on auto insurance rates, made me realize that both oil and insurance are industries plagued by a glaring lack of understanding on the part of the public about basic economic facts--ignorance shamefully exploited by politicians like John McCain to create scapegoats and win votes. The way Sen. McCain is pushing for more offshore oil drilling, you would think that all one has to do to "solve" the problem of rising fuel costs is to go to the beach, stick a straw in the sand and fill...

MN:Lawmaker feels duped as Hwy. 60 fixes fade [...] In February, Hamilton was one of six Republican legislators whose votes were needed to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a $6.6 billion transportation funding bill that ushered in Minnesota's first state gas tax hike in 20 years. At the time Hamilton made things clear: If DFLers would provide funding for Hwy. 60, they would get his vote. [...] But MnDOT now contends the language was never clear and is withholding any commitment to the Hwy. 60 project. What's more, the key DFL legislator who sponsored the transportation bill said Hamilton...

One more thing about bridges then I'll be quiet. A really good article at gobridges.com talks about the mess our nation's bridges are in -- thousands of them spanning big rivers and little creeks all across these United States. This article also reflects on how the inspection technology has changed since the National Bridge Inspection Standards came into being. The House passed HR3999 on July 24, 2008. It's now headed for the Senate. When this resolution came out of the House it contained eleven amendments, several of which were clarifying points of language. However, Amendment 6 encourages states that receive...

Good news for drivers, is bad news for the federal highway trust fund. The fund faces a multi-billion-dollar shortfall next year because Americans are using less gas... and that means less revenue from gasoline taxes. The Federal Highway Administration says Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007. Ohioans drove 75 million fewer miles in the same time span. And Pennsylvanians drove 100 million fewer miles. Some government officials say it points to a need for another method besides the gas tax to fund highway projects.

Good Money After Bad by: Bethany Stotts, July 28, 2008 When gas prices are at record highs and American families are feeling the economic pinch, Congress may just decide to boost gas prices even higher. Their reason will be to save jobs. As the Washington Post reported on July 20, “Now, lawmakers quietly are talking about raising fuel taxes by a dime from the current 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents on diesel fuel.” The discussion arose out of a presentation by Congressmen James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who calculate that states will lose millions...

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), meeting in New Orleans Friday, approved a motion to call on Congress to shore up the diminishing Highway Trust Fund with an increase in the federal gas tax. Last hiked in 1993, the 18.4-cent tax is the primary funding source for federal highway projects. Increased use of fuel-efficient vehicles and non-petroleum fuels as well as cutbacks Americans have made on their driving have negatively impacted the revenue collected from the tax. "The time has come for policymakers at all levels of government to take a serious look at transportation funding," Oregon State Sen....

Oberstar, D-Minn., said his committee is working on the next long-term highway bill. He estimated it will take between $450 billion and $500 billion over six years to address safety and congestion issues with highways, bridges and transit systems. "We'll put all things on the table," Oberstar said, but the gas tax "is the cornerstone. Nothing else will work without the underpinning of the higher user fee gas tax." At the very least, the gas tax should be indexed to construction cost inflation, DeFazio said. The nonpartisan National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission concluded in a report this...

An unprecedented cutback in driving is slashing the funds available to rebuild the nation's aging highway system and expand mass-transit options, underscoring the economic impact of high gasoline prices. The resulting financial strain is touching off a political battle over government priorities in a new era of expensive oil. A report to be released Monday by the Transportation Department shows that over the past seven months, Americans have reduced their driving by more than 40 billion miles. Because of high gasoline prices, they drove 3.7% fewer miles in May than they did a year earlier, the report says, more than...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city's gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes. The practice, which began four months ago, may have ended hours after its disclosure. An aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper released a statement Tuesday evening saying that Denver 2008 Host Committee members would pay market prices for fuel and would also be liable for all applicable taxes.

GLENN: Now, here's one of the most incredible stories I have read today and I've read a lot of incredible stories. Wait until I get to the John Edwards story. I've read a lot of incredible stories today. Here's one from the DNC host committee in Denver, tanking up at city gas pumps to avoid paying the $0.40 a gallon in combined Federal and State gas taxes. Let me repeat that. The DNC would like to save money for their convention and so they have decided that they're going to buy it from the State gas pumps. You know where...

The host committee for the Democratic National Convention set for Denver next month is avoiding paying state and federal taxes on gasoline by gassing up vehicles at a city fuel depot, according to a city councilwoman quoted yesterday on the Web site of the Rocky Mountain News. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right ..." the Denver official, Jeanne Faatz, said at a city meeting yesterday. "I believe this [tax free gas pump] is only for elected officials, government dignitaries," Mayor Hickenlooper said at the session, according to the News. [Snip] Republican National Convention's host committee in [Minneapolis], Teresa...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is using the city's gas pumps to fill up on fuel, avoiding state and federal highway taxes, officials said today. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right to me because, in a sense, you're saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them, and that concerns me," Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said. The issue came up during the council's weekly meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper when the Public Works Department requested authorization to be reimbursed by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for use of "fueling...

As fuel prices rise, gas tax receipts drop, and money for roads and bridges dries up - Gas prices are soaring. That's the bad news.But as they soar, motorists drive less, and that produces some benefits: less air pollution and less congestion. That's the good news.And then there's the bad news about the good news. The federal gas tax is levied on a per-gallon basis. So the less people drive and the less gas they use, the less the federal government collects from gas taxes. So it is that recent record high gas prices have produced record low gas tax...

Good-bye summer gas tax holiday. Hello, higher gas taxes. If you are outraged that gas taxes might go up instead of coming down for the summer, we don't blame you. But the way things are going, it's a possibility that we will be paying more to Uncle Sam when we gas up. Just as the country was digesting the possibility of the 90-day hiatus on gas taxes for the summer to alleviate gas prices, lawmakers learned that a trust fund that pays for road construction and repair countrywide is actually heading in the red, and needs every dime it can...

http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html Monday, July 21, 2008 I KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD DO ... RAISE TAXES! Congress is currently considering the idea of raising fuel taxes by ten cents. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25751775/ Right now we pay 18.4 cents a gallon on gas and 24.3 cents on diesel. Congress thinks that this would be a great time to increase those taxes that you are paying at the pump. Why???? Well, it seems that our federal government doesn't have enough money to spend on highway projects. The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Jim Oberstar presented the House with a list of how many...