Highway financing plan has no fuel tax increase
May 7, 2003 12:00 PM, from staff and wire reports
The Bush administration will send to Congress a six-year, $274 billion highway funding plan with no proposals to raise fuel taxes to help pay for road improvements, according to a Reuters report.Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told a House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee the administration wants a user-based financing strategy that will not boost taxes or stress other federal resources, the report said.
The fuel tax paid by motorists is the primary resource of the Highway Trust Fund, which finances federal contributions to road construction programs.
The financing plan likely will face resistance on Capitol Hill, Reuters said. In the House, some lawmakers are considering a hike in fuel taxes from 18 cents to 23 cents.
