Senator John McCain's proposal to suspend the federal gasoline tax for the summer drew quick criticism from Americans for Transportation Mobility, a national coalition of more than 400 major transportation users and providers.
ATM said suspending the tax "would devastate our national transportation system without ensuring its goal of lowering gasoline prices for consumers. It is less a quick fix than an over-simplified play to voter concerns over the rising cost of oil.
"The user fees that drivers pay on fuel are deposited directly to the Highway Trust Fund, a self-contained pool of money dedicated to investing in our nation's highways, bridges, and public transportation. The current user fee of 18.4 cents per gallon has remained unchanged since October 1, 1993, despite inflation and the skyrocketing cost of construction.
"According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, suspending those surcharges during the high-mileage summer months would, at best, only save motorists an average of $28 while devastating highway and transit programs. This would happen just as the Highway Trust Fund is already facing an expected shortfall of $3.4 billion as early as next year."
PennDOT officials said the "tax holiday" would deprive Pennsylvania's highway funding program of $400 million "at the worst possible time." As with the federal tax, the Pennsylvania gasoline tax has not been increased since 1993, while the construction price-bid index has jumped by 65 percent during the last five years. The increase in that index is attributable almost entirely to the increased costs of steel, concrete, petroleum and other construction materials.
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