Agriculture, Truckers Seek Gas Tax Increase for Infrastructure

U.S. agriculture and trucking groups are asking Congress to raise the federal gas tax in an upcoming recovery package to cover needed upgrades to infrastructure.

• American Farm Bureau Federation, American Trucking Associations urge for tax increase to pay for infrastructure upgrades in a letter to Senate Finance Cmte Chairman Chuck Grassley, House Ways and Means Cmte Chairman Richard Neal and the minority leaders of the two panels
• Policy could be implemented “without adding a dime to a federal deficit that has exploded in recent weeks,” Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and ATA President Chris Spear tell panels in letter
• Groups say the 18.4 cents federal gas tax that supports the Highway Trust Fund hasn’t been raised since 1993 but coronavirus crisis presents the right time to raise it.
• “Gas is selling at historically low prices,” they say. “Compared to one year ago, Americans are paying about 60 cents per gallon less today for fuel”
• NOTE: Group sends letter to Capitol Hill after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is working on fourth recovery package with a focus on infrastructure

To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Ognanovich in Washington at nognanovich2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Kasia Klimasinska at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net

Ben Livesey

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