Shuster Opposes Fuel Tax Rollback

Major road construction and rebuilding projects would be stopped in their tracks if a 4.3-cents-a-gallon diesel and gas tax is rolled back, according to the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

	Related Stories
	Diesel Average Continues to Climb (Mar. 17) Clinton Admits 'We Need To Do More' (on Truckline) (Mar. 16) OOIDA Pushes for Fuel Surcharge (Mar. 16) ATA Asks Clinton to Convene Emergency Energy Conference (on Truckline) (Mar. 15)  (Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.)
		More coverage on Truckline

Armed with figures showing that such a move could result in a crumbling infrastructure and mounting job losses, Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) said the “repeal of the fuel tax is the wrong way to go.”

The 4.3-cent tax on gasoline and diesel, actually a tax increase that was approved by Congress in 1993, brings in $7.2 billion to the fund annually — $5.8 billion for highways and $1.4 billion for transit, said Shuster.

Some trucking officials and others have been urging Congress to drop the tax hike in an effort to mitigate rapidly rising fuel costs, an effort that Shuster has resisted.

For the full story, see the Mar. 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.