WASHINGTON - A Politico column earlier this week speculated that the federal gas tax ?" whose renewal is typically assured with a routine Congressional vote ?" could perhaps be facing a challenge as it is set to expire September 30.
"[A]s the past month of rancorous and intensely partisan debate about raising the debt ceiling has shown, the times are anything but normal," Politico wrote. Indeed, the 18.4-cent federal gas tax per gallon of gasoline is thought by some to be "the next political controversy to spark a brawl in an ever more deeply divided Capitol Hill."
In light of the recent eleventh-hour compromise on the debt ceiling issue and a temporary interruption of the Federal Aviation Administration due to a legislative dispute, "some advocates are worried that the nation??s highway fund will be the next victim ?" while some conservatives sense an opportunity."
The gas talk had been pushed aside during the debt debate, so much so that some legislators are beginning to get nervous. "Procedural delays could cause the tax to lapse even if a sizable majority would vote for renewal, as with the FAA??s shutdown," Politico wrote.
Representatives for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are concerned, sensing the issue has been ignored for too long.
"I was raising this issue because I consider it pretty important," said Jack Basso, director of program finance and management for AASHTO. "They really don??t understand that this thing is expiring."
Politico said that "a handful" of conservative groups, including the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) group, are looking toward the gas tax expiration as the next "spending and tax fight."
"In general, ATR has always supported the idea of ending the federal tax on gas and having states pay for their own roads," said Grover Norquist, president of ATR, declining to confirm whether he plans to pressure Republicans to let the tax expire.
Funding for the federal Highway Trust Fund comes from the federal gas tax. Some experts maintain that expiration of the gas tax would throw the nation??s transportation system into upheaval.
"It??s the most important transportation funding source we have," said Carl Davis, an analyst with the group Citizens for Tax Justice. "It would be absolutely devastating to that trust fund."
The Obama administration supports the current level of highway funding, telling Politico that it should be a nonpartisan issue.
"Extending surface transportation authorization, which has received bipartisan support, is crucial to America??s long-term prosperity, and we??re confident that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can work together to protect our investment in transportation infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner," said Meg Reilly, spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget.