The Feds need to release control of the purse strings for the interstate highways, let the states keep the revenue and disperse the funds as needed. The RINOs have become Jimmy Carter and his 55 MPH speed limit. Why the heck do Hawaii and Alaska have interstate highways? Quick answer, it’s for the pork and returning money back to the states.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say raising the gasoline tax for the first time in more than 20 years to shore up the insolvent federal Highway Trust Fund is possible this year.
The reasons for the interest in raising the gas tax are twofold: The Highway Trust Fund, which pays for fixing the nation’s roads and bridges, is in dire shape — it took a $9.7 billion transfer from the general Treasury to keep it operating through fiscal 2014 — and plummeting oil prices have lowered pump prices to an average of $2.17 per gallon nationwide, according to the AAA motor club.
Republicans, while not explicitly endorsing an increase in the gas tax, for the first time in years have said that it’s a legitimate option. The current highway funding bill expires at the end of May, and congressional leaders say they’re determined to avoid another short-term patch.
“I don’t think we take anything off the table at this point,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said last week on “Fox News Sunday,” noting the fund faces a severe shortfall. The Congressional Budget Office projected the fund would be $120 billion in the hole in 2024.
Socialism is not the Answer 