Blumenauer Calls Gas Tax Holiday 'A Goofy Bipartisan Idea'

Fri. May 9, 2008


Advocates of infrastructure spending today called for a $1 trillion-plus federal program to "rebuild and renew" America, and vented their displeasure at the proposal for a gas tax holiday to help offset the soaring price of fuel. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said he found it frustrating that a plan for a three-month suspension of the 18.4-cents-a-gallon gas tax -- the funding source for federal road and bridge repair -- had dominated political discussion in recent weeks. "It's a goofy bipartisan idea," Blumenauer said at a forum sponsored by groups backing the rebuilding effort. Blumenauer added that the same person who complained about paying an extra penny in gas taxes at the pump was likely to ante up to $6 for a container of bottled water at a service station mini-market. "We need to be investing more in America's infrastructure," said Blumenauer, who recently introduced legislation calling for the appointment of a special commission to map out a national rebuilding strategy for next 100 years.

The gas tax holiday proposal was denounced at the forum by Laborers' International Union President Terence O'Sullivan. "We all saw it for what it is -- robbing Peter to pay Paul," O'Sullivan said. But he added that the country would need more than a "user fee" like the gas tax to cover the estimated $1.6 trillion cost of shoring up its highways and other transportation systems. "We must tell [the nation] that we have a solution but it's not a nickel and dime solution," O'Sullivan said. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said a new funding mechanism would be required but ruled out the conventional congressional appropriations process. He said that Congress had lost its credibility on infrastructure spending because of political boondoggles "like bridges to nowhere." As an alternative, Rendell suggested the creation of a federal capital budget. He said he could immediately think of a funding offset that could be used to finance the perhaps $150 billion a year in debt service required under the new federal budget system. "It's a four-letter word beginning with 'I' and ending with 'q,' " he said.

Members of the Congress at forum were cool to the capital budget idea. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., said it was worthy of debate but argued that the advantage of the current appropriations system was that it allowed for a fairly accurate computation of budget deficits. On the other hand, he said, although cities and states balance their regular annual budgets, they "borrow a fortune" through their capital budgets.

by Terry Kivlan