Politics

Despite Low Gas Prices, Gas Tax Hike Appears Unlikely

Published

10 years ago

January 15, 2015

A person gets fuel after gas prices dropped below $2 a gallon at the Quick Mart in High Point, N.C., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Daily Free Press, Laura Greene)

JOAN LOWY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The new Republican-controlled Congress is facing an old problem: where to find the money for highway and transit programs.

With gasoline prices at their lowest in years when the new Congress convened, there had been talk that it might be time to raise federal gas and diesel taxes, which haven’t budged in more than 20 years.

But already, GOP leaders are tamping down expectations, leaving no clear solution to the funding problem.

“I don’t know of any support for a gas tax increase in Congress,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the No. 2 Senate GOP leader, said flatly. Explained Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.: “They don’t want to vote for a tax increase.”

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, while not closing the door entirely, said there aren’t enough votes in the House for a gas tax increase. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, was equally doubtful.

“The president has ruled out a gas tax. I don’t think there’s a will in Congress, and the American people don’t want it,” Shuster recently told The Associated Press.

The gas tax, now 18.4 cents a gallon, and the diesel fuel tax, now 24.4 cents a gallon, were last increased in 1993. In the meantime, Americans are driving less per capita, cars are more fuel efficient and construction costs have gone up. Fuel taxes bring in about $34 billion a year to the federal Highway Trust Fund, but the government spends about $50 billion a year. The trust fund has been the main source of federal transportation aid to states for more than 60 years.

In that environment, two key GOP senators — Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah and Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe of Oklahoma — had raised the hopes of transportation advocates by saying raising fuel taxes should be considered along with other funding options, using the more politically palatable term “user fees.” But the idea appears to be a long shot at best.

Congress has kept transportation programs teetering on the edge of insolvency since 2008 by repeatedly transferring just enough funds from the general treasury — and making corresponding spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget — to meet obligations for a few more months or, in one case, as long as two years. Finding acceptable spending cuts to offset the transfers gets more difficult each time.

The latest funding patch cleared Congress last August only about three hours before the Transportation Department said it would begin cutting back aid payments to states. That fix is only expected to last through May, when Congress will be back where it started unless lawmakers act sooner.

“The political support for increasing taxes to pay for transportation appears to be very limited,” said Joshua Schank, president of the Eno Center for Transportation, a think tank.

A majority of Americans think the economic benefits of good transportation outweigh the cost, but they can’t agree on how to pay for new highways or repairs of old ones. An Associated Press-GfK poll last summer, before the plunge in gas prices, showed 58 percent opposed raising federal gasoline taxes to pay for repair, replacement or expansion of roads and bridges. Only 14 percent supported an increase.

The lack of voter enthusiasm for raising gas taxes hasn’t deterred die-hard gas tax supporters who say it is preferable to a one-time fix because it would ensure continued funding. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., issued a statement Thursday saying he intends to reintroduce a bill to raise fuel taxes 15 cents a gallon. He introduced a similar bill last year, but it wasn’t considered by the GOP-controlled House. Blumenauer estimated the increase would raise an additional $210 billion over the next decade.

President Barack Obama has previously rejected a gas tax increase, instead proposing to close corporate tax loopholes and use the revenue to pay for infrastructure. His plan would boost highway spending 22 percent and transit spending 70 percent over four years.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told a transportation conference this week that’s still the administration’s preferred option, but he also expressed “openness to ideas that emerge from Congress.”

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the No. 3 Senate GOP leader, who helped raise speculation that a fuel tax increase might be possible when he said all possible funding options should be considered, including a gas tax increase, this week described such a possibility as “unlikely.”

“I can’t see a scenario for some sort of user fee increase that you’d have to offset with tax relief in some other area,” he told reporters. “Nobody is going to vote for a gas tax increase.”

Instead, Thune said, closing tax loopholes, especially those that encourage corporations to move overseas, and using the money to pay for infrastructure is his “preferred option.” But he also observed that “tax increases are always hard, and there’s a perception that we ought to be able to find savings in other areas to fund infrastructure.”

___

Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

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Oakland Post: Week of January 1 – 7, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 1 – 7, 2025

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9 hours ago

January 2, 2025

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Racially Motivated Violence Against Black Teen Prompts $10 Million Claim Against LAUSD 

In December, a second altercation, on a video shared with news media, showed 4 to 6 boys attacking a Black student and using racial slurs. The video also shows a person in a safety vest trying to stop the fight and telling them to “handle it after school.” Then, the video ends. 

Published

4 days ago

December 30, 2024

Oakland Post

(Left to right) Civil Rights Attorney Caree Harper comforts the victim’s mother as she becomes emotional when describing the attacks on her son while her attorney Bradley C. Gage listens. Verdugo Hills High School on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Tujunga, CA. (Solomon O. Smith /for California Black Media)

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

A distraught mother and her legal team announced a $10 million lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) on Dec. 16, alleging that her son was the target of bullying because of his race.

“CS DOE is a 14-year-old African American student at Verdugo High School. He is a Ninth Grader,” reads a statement the plaintiff’s attorneys shared with California Black Media (CBM).

“Almost from the first day of class (in August 2024), CS DOE was targeted by Latino students who called him racial slurs, physically attacked him and threatened to stab him.”

The family’s identity has not yet been released to the public due to safety concerns, according to their attorneys Bradley C. Gage and Caree Harper. The student’s mother is identified only as A.O. in the complaint.

The first video, filmed in August, showed several non-Black students punching and kicking a Black student in a bathroom on campus while yelling racial slurs. The mother claims that the students who attacked her son were not punished, and the administration asked her to move her son to another school for his safety.

“They wanted him to leave the school without giving any disciplinary action towards those students,” said the student’s mother. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s going to finish. I wanted him to at least stay until the December winter break, and then I was going to transfer schools for him.”

Before she could enroll her son in a different school the attacks escalated.

CS DOE, a 14-year-old freshman, left the school but was followed by a car, according to Gage. Several individuals exited the vehicle, one with a “large butcher knife.” A fight ensued and two people were stabbed. The Black student was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon but was later released into his mother’s custody.

The high school freshmen is scheduled to appear in juvenile court on Feb. 1, but Harper says she will reach out to the District Attorney and make the case against charging the young man.

“His mama had to go find him because he was hiding and fleeing for his very life,” said Harper.

According to the boy’s mother, the young student is still traumatized and has not been able to return to the area because it remains unsafe. Racial slurs have also been spray painted on their home.

“I’m sad. I’m devastated, you know,” said the mother. “I still feel like they’re after him. I still feel like they can kill him, possibly.”

The LAUSD and principal of Verdugo High School did not respond to CBM’s requests for comment.

If you are – or someone you know is – has experienced a hate crime or hate incident, please visit CAvsHate.org for more information and to find out what you can do about it.

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2024 In Review: 7 Questions for the California Association of Black School Educators 

CABSE members represent governmental agencies, charter schools and charter school organizations, public school districts, traditional public schools, and community colleges. The organization’s primary goal is to expand PK-14 educational opportunities for all students in California, with an emphasis on under-represented and under-served Black students.

Published

4 days ago

December 30, 2024

Oakland Post

CABSE members represent governmental agencies, charter schools and charter school organizations, public school districts, traditional public schools, and community colleges. The organization’s primary goal is to expand PK-14 educational opportunities for all students in California, with an emphasis on under-represented and under-served Black students.

CABSE President Satra Zurita and Conference Chair Micah Ali.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

The California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) is an organization consisting of elected and appointed school officials, administrators and instructors from across California who are committed to advancing equity for Black students.

CABSE members represent governmental agencies, charter schools and charter school organizations, public school districts, traditional public schools, and community colleges.

The organization’s primary goal is to expand PK-14 educational opportunities for all students in California, with an emphasis on under-represented and under-served Black students.

California Black Media (CBM) spoke with CABSE President Satra Zurita and Conference Chair Micah Ali about this year’s successes, disappointments, and plans for the organization coming into the new year.

Looking back at 2024, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why?

Ali: I would have to say that two highlights have been the ongoing support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Engie, and other sponsors that have enabled us to bring together like-minded education leaders twice a year to collectively advance innovative and meaningful strategies to achieve change on behalf of Black students across our state.

How did your leadership and investments contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

Zurita: CABSE’s leadership and investment in improving the education system for Black students in our great state has resulted in a long-standing focus on transforming public education and its response to Black students. By pulling from the very wisdom of those educators and leaders who care deeply about Black students and who are showing great promise through their efforts.

What frustrated you the most over the last year? 

Zurita: Continuing to see the deep impact of COVID-19 Pandemic school site closures on students academically and emotionally — especially Black students. This makes our work and our advocacy more vital than ever.

CBM: What inspired you the most over the last year?

Zurita: Seeing our CABSE convenings grow in depth and breadth — our strategies, powerful content and reach.

What is one lesson you learned in 2024 that will inform your decision-making next year?

Ali: Our Blueprint for Education Equity is a crowd-sourced framework of strategies that have shown great promise for improving the education experiences and opportunities for Black students. In 2024, we developed an equity self-assessment tool for districts to use in evaluating their own efforts on behalf of Black students. Strategies are helping Black students.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians face?

Zurita: Many Black students across our state are dealing with a host of challenges: homelessness, food insecurity, exposure to violence, not to mention bias remains a pervasive problem. To add to the challenge, educators are worn out, tired, and frustrated. We now need to think about how we can simultaneously inspire and empower students and educators alike. The system needs an overhaul.

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2025?

Zurita: In 2025, we hope to stand CABSE up as a fully functioning non-profit organization engaged in research and policy design.

Ali: We also aim to deepen the content of our convenings, including adding a Math Track and what we are calling Social Determinants of Education Track to our annual conference and institute, which will address those social contexts that prevent Black students from realizing their potential as students.