Uh-oh! Democratic members of Congress are at odds over whether or not to raise the federal gasoline tax, which is currently at 18.4 cents a gallon.
During a meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Representatives Lois Frankel (D), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), and Alcee Hastings (D), “gathered to tout highway projects funded by the stimulus package enacted early in Barack Obama’s presidency,” according to the Sun Sentinel.As always, the every-colorful and controversial, Alcee Hastings, went political acappella on the others, and called for an increase in the federal gasoline tax. The others didn’t
Apparently, Foxx, Wasserman Schultz, and Frankel, were caught a bit off guard, and didn’t back Hastings gas tax hike proposal.
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Lois Frankel didn’t nix Hastings call for higher gas tax altogether, as she stated that she would be open to a bipartisan all-of-the-above approach supporting highway funding.
Interestingly enough, the one Congresswoman who hasn’t met a tax increase she didn’t like, Wasserman Schultz, opposed the notion, expressing concern that a gasoline tax increase would hurt small businesses ability to “maintain employment levels, because it was another addition to the cost of doing business.”“Any time you increase gas prices it impacts the bottom line of business and families.”-Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Here’s what Hastings said:
“Let me separate from the secretary and Debbie and Lois and any other congressional representative and take on what I think the consumer needs to understand.
“We’ve been very fortunate in the last year to see gas prices come down. Part of the reason – and I’m speaking only for myself, I want to make that very clear – a part of the reason that the highway trust fund is going belly up is because there has not been an increase in the gas tax.
“If we are successful and it appears that we may be in continuing our efforts to cause gas prices to come down, than it would be my position that we can have some slight increase in the federal gas tax in an effort to try to do the things that are necessary for our infrastructure.“I’m speaking for me. I want to make sure that [is clear]. When you mention taxes, everyone gets scared…. I don’t feel that way. I think all of us have a responsibility to take some of the weight. We use those roads. We ought to pay for them.”
