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Oberstar seeks gas tax boost to solve bridge crisis
Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar will seek a temporary nickel bump in the federal gas tax to pay for an aggressive national bridge repair program. The veteran lawmaker also predicted President Bush's opposition to a fuel tax boost will melt away in the wake of the Minneapolis bridge collapse. Rep. Oberstar stood a few blocks upstream from the site of the bridge calamity Wednesday and uttered the same words many have said upon visiting the river in the past seven days. "The unthinkable came to our state." But when the words come out of Oberstar's mouth it carries more impact. As chairman of the powerful House Transportation Committee he can probably do more than any single person in the nation when it comes to tackling the bridge crisis. Earlier in the day he toured the rubble of what had been the huge Interstate 35-W bridge over ther Mississippi. As with other visitors he found the impact of being there in person much more profound than photographs and videotape. Oberstar noted that span was only one of 73,000 bridges deemed "structurally" deficient by the government, prior to last Wednesday. More than 6,000 of those bridges are part of the National Highway System, which carries 70 percent of the traffic in the US. "And why those bridges aren't repaired is the question people are asking all across the America." Temporary Tax for Bridges He announced a comprehensive program of stepped up bridge inspections and repairs, to be funded by a nickel per gallon increase in the fuel tax. Oberstar says it would be imposed only three years, long enough to generate a $25 billion trust fund dedicated solely to bridge work. But, unlike the federal highway trust fund which serves as the model for the bridge fund, Oberstar envisions projects would be ranked by urgency and not open to pork barrel politics. He said any attempts to add so-called earmarks to any bridge appropriation bills under the program would bring about a moratorium. "So one state trying to gimmick the system for its own benefit, or one member of Congress trying to gimmick the system for a project will shut down the whole system," the Congressman explained. "No one will want to do that." Since 1993 the federal fuel tax has been 18.4 cents. Minnesota's has stood at 20-cents since 1998, despite repeated attempts by lawmakers to raise it. Gas Tax Converts In fact, the last time Oberstar talked taxes in Minnesota was last February 20th, when he urged legislators to raise the state's fuel tax. They took his advice, but Governor Pawlenty vetoed the bill, which was also loaded with a regional sales tax for transit and local option wheelage taxes for county roads and bridges. Days after the bridge fell into the river, Governor Pawlenty signalled he'd be willing to sign a fuel tax hike as part of a broad transportation deal to address the state's backlog of bridge and road repair projects. When asked if President Bush could also have a change of heart on the fuel tax Oberstar expressed hope. "Governor Pawlenty has had a conversion and I expect the President will as well. At least we'll give him that opportunity." A nickel here, a nickel there The last time Oberstar suggested a bump in the federal tax was in 2003, when he proposed a nickel per gallon indexed to future inflation. It didn't survive the threat of a veto from the President. "In October of 2003 gasoline was selling at $1.34 a gallon," Oberstar remarked. He argued that all those price fluctuations since have netted no additional money for roads in the US or Minnesota. "Just go to the corner gas station and wait a half hour and gas will go up or down. Where's it all going? Sixty percent of that money is going overseas." The Congressman conceded the stats about compromised bridges and the funding shortfall for inspections and repairs may not sway fiscal conservatives to support raising the gas tax. He said perhaps the horrific images of Minnesota's fallen bridge will move the country to action. "If you're not prepared to invest an additional five cents in road reconstruction, bridge reconstruction, then God help you!" The transportation chair said he's clearing his calendar, placing his bridge tax bill at the top of the agenda when Congress returns to action September 5th.
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