AS GAS CONSUMPTION DRIES UP FROM HIGHER FUEL EFFICIENT AUTOMOBILES–THE TAX MAN COMETH FOR MORE TO TAKE FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SINCE THEY HAVE OUT SMART THE GOVERNMENT BY FUELING UP LESS OFTEN AT THE PUMP–INSTEAD CONGRESS WILL PENALIZE ONCE AGAIN THE PEOPLE–SINCE THE DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS NEVER KNOWS WHAT A BALANCE BUDGET MEANS THEY ONLY KNOW HOW TO RAISE MORE TAXES TO PAY FOR THEIR OUTRAGEOUS SPENDING

If not the gas tax, then what?

That’s the dilemma facing Congress as it seeks to plug a growing hole in transportation funding that state and local governments say is reaching crisis proportions.

While the gas tax has long been the bedrock of the transportation trust fund, the revenue is drying up as cars become more fuel-efficient and people spend less time on the roadways.

House Republicans have ruled out an increase in the tax, leaving lawmakers to search for an alternative method of funding.

But some of the ideas circulating in Washington, such as an expansion of toll roads, would likely be unpopular with the public, leaving lawmakers without an easy solution.

The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the Department of Transportation’s Highway Trust Fund will run out of money as early as August. The trust fund’s coffers traditionally have been filled by the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax, but infrastructure expenses have outpaced receipts in recent years by as much as $20 billion annually.

With the shortfall looming this summer, some groups that lobby on transportation funding are pushing to get their proposals in front of lawmakers. 

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/201881-congress-reaches-fork-in-the-road-on-gas-tax