The American Trucking Associations today, July 23, told a House subcommittee that the federal fuel tax remains the most cost-effective way to fund essential highway infrastructure projects.
In her statement on behalf of ATA, 2nd Vice Chair Barbara Windsor told the House Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, House Committee on Ways and Means, that an increase in the fuel tax — with the additional revenue invested in projects and programs that address national highway infrastructure needs — is by far the best way to ensure sufficient funding for highway projects over the near term.
“With collection costs at just 0.2 percent of revenue, no alternative funding schemes can match the efficiency or equitability of the federal fuel tax,” said Windsor, who is president and chief executive officer of Hahn Transportation, based in New Market, Md.
ATA maintains support for the federal fuel tax because it:
Windsor explained that highway funding schemes like tolling, vehicle miles traveled taxes or public-private partnerships do not stand up to the criteria for viable highway funding and provide a minimal return on the highway user’s investment.
Windsor also said that the climate and energy legislation recently passed in the House is likely to increase the cost of fuel significantly, which would impose significant costs on American consumers and jeopardize the ability of the trucking industry to fund both the highway infrastructure that is needed and also absorb the added costs to fuel brought by climate and energy legislation.
