DALLAS — More than 50% of Americans would support an increase in the federal gasoline tax if the revenues are dedicated to highways and mass transit, according to an opinion survey released this week by the AAA.
More than two-thirds of those surveyed agreed that the federal government should spend more money on transportation, the nonprofit motoring association said.
The survey was released as Congress considers several options to supplement the rapidly depleting Highway Trust Fund, including higher fuel taxes, a new refinery-based tax on oil used in surface transportation, revisions to the corporate tax code on foreign earnings, and a reduction in Saturday mail deliveries.
Some lawmakers support a plan to slash federal fuel taxes so that states and local governments could raise their own such taxes. State gasoline taxes currently range from eight cents per gallon in Alaska to 50.6 cents per gallon in New York.
The AAA survey of some 2,000 voting-age adults conducted in early to mid-May found that 52% were willing to pay up to an additional $10 per month of federal gasoline taxes to improve roads, bridges, and mass transit systems. The average American motorist currently pays $8 per month in federal fuel taxes, AAA said.
Raising the federal gasoline taxes is the most efficient way to fund transportation maintenance and improvements over the near-term, said AAA president Bob Darbelnet.
"Many of us are willing to pay a little more if it means we will have access to better roads, bridges and transit systems," he said. "It is time for our nation's leaders to stand with those in Congress who support improving our country's transportation system."
The AAA supports an increase in gasoline and diesel taxes if the revenue is dedicated to projects that ease congestion and improve safety, Darbelnet said. The looming shortfall in the trust fund will delay transportation maintenance and expansion projects nationwide, he said.
"Americans are fed up with record-long commutes, unsafe highways, and never-ending potholes caused by political inaction," Darbelnet said. "Congress must prevent severe maintenance delays during the height of the summer driving season by preventing a [HTF] bankruptcy in August."
Almost 70% of those surveyed said the federal government should increase transportation spending, Darbelnet said, with only 5% saying it should spend less.
The Transportation Department said it will delay or reduce reimbursements to states for projects under construction if the highway account dips below $4 billion as expected in late July or August. If the HTF is not supplemented before the current two-year highway bill expires at the end of fiscal 2014 this fall, DOT said, it will not be able to fund new projects in fiscal 2015.
Dedicated federal fuel tax revenues have lagged behind expenditures since 2008, and the fund has been bolstered with $58 billion of general fund revenues over the past six years.
The Congressional Budget Office projects it will take an additional $18 billion to keep the HTF afloat in fiscal 2015 at current spending levels, and up to $100 billion over the next six years unless lawmakers provide additional revenue or cut transportation spending to match the expected $34 billion a year in fuel tax revenues.
Each 1 cent increase in the gasoline tax will generate $1.5 billion of additional annual revenue, CBO said.
The CBO
Rep. Peter DeFazio this week proposed an excise tax on oil, levied at the refinery, that would start off at $6.75 per 42-gallon barrel. The tax would go up annually, indexed to inflation and increases in vehicles' average fuel efficiency. The federal oil tax would be the equivalent of a gasoline tax of 26 cents per gallon in the first year, he said, and 47.4 cents by the 10th year. The new tax would generate $314 billion over 10 years, DeFazio said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said earlier this month he will introduce a measure raising the federal gasoline tax by six cents in fiscal 2015 and another six cents in 2016.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., has filed a bill, H.R. 3636, that would raise the federal gas tax by 15 cents per gallon over three years. Blumenauer's proposal has been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Laborers International Union, American Public Transportation Association, and other construction and transportation groups.
