Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to do away with the 18.4 cents per gallon federal fuel tax for the duration of 2022. In introducing the legislation, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan said, “We need to continue to think creatively about how we can find new ways to bring costs down, and this bill would do exactly that, making a tangible difference for workers and families.” Co-sponsor of the legislation is Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. In an interview, Hassan added that suspending the tax, “while we go after some of the supply chain challenges we’ve seen that is one of the drivers of inflation is just common sense.” Revenue from the tax, which has remained at the 18.4 cents level since 1993, goes to the Highway Trust Fund. That fund, in turn, is used to pay for an array of federal road construction and surface transportation projects across the country. Responses to the proposal have been varied, with the Associated General Contractors arguing that the move will “make it harder for President Biden to keep his promise to fix roads and bridges that are in desperate need of improvement across the country.” In a statement, Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the AGC, added that the bill, if passed, “would leave a massive hole in the federal Highway Trust Fund, which is largely funded by the gas tax, that pays for federal investment in road, bridge, and transit projects.” Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, in an interview with the Washington Post, characterized the fuel tax suspension as “short-sighted, ineffective, goofy, and gimmicky.” Signaling its support for the legislation, the Mankato Free Press in Mankato, Minnesota, proclaimed that the “tax break would come at a time when gas prices may rise due to demand from workers going back to their office and workplaces as the omicron virus continues to wane.” By Garry Boulard
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