TPA Joins Coalition Urging Congress to Oppose Gas Tax Increase

Congress has always been very good at hitting taxpayers for more revenue just when relief is finally in sight. The latest example of this nasty habit is the seemingly bipartisan urge to raise the gas tax, something that would harm many working families just as they are starting to enjoy lower prices at the pump. Under the guise of paying for the Highway Trust Fund, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have signaled they are open to raising the 18.4 cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline and the 24.4 cent-a-gallon tax on diesel fuel. This prompted TPA and others to sign a coalition letter led by Americans for Prosperity to urge Congress to oppose any efforts to raise the gas tax.

See the full letter below:

Over 50 Organizations to Congress: Reject Efforts to Raise the Federal Gas Tax

January 28, 2015

Dear Members of the 114th Congress:

On behalf of our organizations and the millions of Americans we represent across all 50 states, I write to express our strong opposition to legislation that includes an increase to the federal gas tax.

Not only is increasing the gas tax an ineffective way to address the nation’s transportation infrastructure needs, it would further increase the burden of government on families and business – and would disproportionately hurt lower income Americans already hurt by trying times in our economy.

A higher gas tax means higher prices not just on gas, but on goods and services throughout the economy. These increased costs would inevitably be passed down to consumers, resulting in a regressive tax hike on middle- and lower-income Americans.

Millions of people struggling through stagnant wages and increased cost of living have been given some relief with falling gas prices. These lower prices amount to nearly $100 extra per month for an average family, which is expected to lead to an additional $100 billion of economic growth. Congress should embrace these lower prices, not confiscate the savings, increase costs, and weaken growth potential.

Moreover, a gas tax increase would exacerbate existing problems with the current transportation infrastructure funding formula. Despite billions in Highway Trust Fund (HTF) shortfalls, Washington continues to spend federal dollars on projects that have nothing to do with roads like bike paths and transit as well as completely unrelated projects like museums and squirrel sanctuaries. Over one-third of HTF spending today is for non-highway purposes.

In addition, Davis-Bacon wage rules and other burdensome regulations needlessly add time and cost to transportation infrastructure projects.

As with so many other issues in Washington, transportation infrastructure has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Rather than asking Americans for even more of their hard-earned paycheck to fund reckless Washington spending, Congress should seek an alternate solution that properly prioritizes federal transportation infrastructure needs, reduces costly and time consuming bureaucratic hurdles, and further empowers state and local governments in conjunction with the private sector. In doing so, Congress can create a system that is efficient and responsive, and ensures that the United States has the best and safest transportation network in the world.

Sincerely,

Brent Gardner, Vice President of Government Affairs, Americans for Prosperity
Marc Short, President, Freedom Partners
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
James L. Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment
Eileen Bruskewitz, Executive Director, American Dream Coalition
Sean Noble, President, American Encore
Thomas J. Pyle, President, American Energy Alliance
Dee Stewart, President, Americans for a Balanced Budget
Coley Jackson, President, Americans for Competitive Enterprise
Peter J. Thomas, Chairman, Americans for Constitutional Liberty
Rick Manning, President, Americans for Limited Government
John Tate, President, Campaign For Liberty
Kristin Fecteau, Campaign to Free America
Andrew Quinlan, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom
Kim Crockett, Chief Operating Officer, EVP and General Counsel, Center of the American Experiment
Marita Noon, Executive Director, Citizen’s Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE)
Francis X. De Luca, President, Civitas Institute
David McIntosh, President, Club for Growth
Tom Brinkman Jr., Chairman, Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)
Marc Scribner, Fellow, Center for Technology and Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Penny Nance, CEO, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
Chris Prandoni, Interim Executive Director, Cost of Government Center
Marita Noon, Executive Director, Energy Makes America Great Inc.
L. Brent Bozell III, Chairman, ForAmerica
Annette Meeks, CEO, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Matt Kibbe, President and CEO, FreedomWorks
George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom
Evan Feinberg, President, GenOpp
Kelly McCutchen, President, Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Keli’i Akina, Ph.D., President, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Kristina Rasmussen, Executive Vice President, Illinois Policy Action
The Honorable Alfred S. Regnery, Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
Seton Motley, President, Less Government
Brett Healy, President, MacIver Institute
Harry C. Alford, President/CEO, National Black Chamber of Commerce
Lloyd M. Bentsen IV, Senior Research Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis
Lew Uhler, President, National Tax Limitation Committee
Matt Meyer, President, Opportunity Ohio
Gov. Gary Johnson, Honorary Chairman, Our America Initiative
Lance Brown, Executive Director, Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy (PACE)
Lori Sanders, Outreach Director & Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
Mike Stenhouse, CEO, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Paul J. Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation
William Whipple III, President, Secure America’s Future Economy
Derek Monson, Director of Policy, Sutherland Institute
David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips, Founder, Tea Party Nation
Joseph Bast, President and CEO, The Heartland Institute
Daniel Garza, Executive Director, The LIBRE Initiative
Carl Bearden, Executive Director, United for Missouri
Rose Bogaert, Chair, Wayne County Taxpayers Association