Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Gas Tax

The Gas Tax: A Trip Back in Legislative Time …

By Elana Schor | Apr 15, 2010 | 10 Comments

As Tax Day prompts a rush of political rallies and media coverage, it’s worth looking back at the history of the federal levy that helps pay for transportation projects: the gas tax. The late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) in 1982, when he battled his own party’s attempts to raise the gas tax. (Photo: TIME) Most […]

Nevada Becomes Newest Battleground in Mileage Tax Debate

By Elana Schor | Apr 9, 2010 | 3 Comments

Nevada’s state DOT is in the early stages of a years-long study aimed at mapping a possible transition from the gas tax to a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee, a shift urged last year by a congressionally chartered panel on infrastructure financing and encouraged by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). In-vehicle GPS units, such as the […]

Would the New Senate Fuel Tax Deal a Death Blow to the Transport Bill?

By Elana Schor | Apr 6, 2010 | 4 Comments

Eight Democrats yesterday joined nearly the entire transportation universe, from road-builders to transit advocates, to warn the three Senate authors of a new climate bill against raising gas taxes without using the money for infrastructure. Their message, translated from the often impenetrable language of Washington: Imposing new fuel fees that are not routed to transport […]

8 Senate Dems Join Industry in a Gas-Tax Warning to Climate Bill’s Authors

By Elana Schor | Apr 5, 2010 | 5 Comments

As Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) prepare to unveil a new climate change measure that includes a tax on motor fuels, eight of their colleagues are urging the trio not to forget local transportation planning — and warning that any new gas tax should be used to help pay […]

New Report: Congress Should Boost Truck Efficiency by Raising Gas Tax

By Elana Schor | Apr 1, 2010 | 2 Comments

As the federal government moves forward on a mandate to set stronger fuel-efficiency rules for trucks and buses, a new report from an independent scientific body is urging lawmakers to take another approach: raise fuel taxes. The 2007 federal energy law aimed to set new fuel-efficiency rules for trucks as well as buses. (Photo: TTI) […]

Transport and the Tea Party: How Conservatives Talk About the Gas Tax

By Elana Schor | Mar 25, 2010 | 6 Comments

The passage of health care legislation this week, while elating Democrats, has proven an equally potent motivator for conservatives advocates of states’ rights. Appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was asked about the viability of the legal challenge to the health bill filed by 14 mostly conservative attorneys […]

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