Trucking Group Supports Diesel, Gas Tax Increases

The American Trucking Associations endorsed legislation for a Goods Movement Trust Fund financed by a 12-cent-a-gallon increase in diesel fuel taxes and is encouraging Congress to pass a similar gasoline tax increase to fund transportation projects with regional or national benefit.

The diesel tax increase is proposed in the Freight Focus Act of 2010, sponsored by Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif. The Richardson bill would create an office of freight planning within the Department of Transportation that would designate freight corridors, and give priority to spending on infrastructure projects that benefit goods movement.

In addition to the diesel tax increase, the Richardson bill would transfer $4 billion to freight infrastructure from the general fund, and would allow the addition of other revenue sources.

By The Numbers: U.S. Diesel Prices.

“This legislation will go a long way toward addressing critical bottlenecks on our nation's most important highway corridors,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “These chokepoints cost the trucking industry tens of billions of dollars each year, and force trucks to waste a tremendous amount of fuel. With Congresswoman Richardson's help, we can begin to fix these problem areas, which will reduce shipping costs and lower emissions from all vehicles.”

The ATA said the legislation would fund freight transportation needs without draining the Highway Trust Fund, which is supported by user fees. The association said it “strongly encourages Congress to pass a transportation authorization bill as soon as possible so that we can begin to address our many transportation infrastructure needs.

“While ATA has agreed to support a diesel tax increase to fund the most pressing freight needs on our highway system, we recognize that this will not be sufficient to address all of our surface transportation challenges,” the association said. “Therefore, we encourage Congress to pass a similar gasoline tax increase to fund additional projects with significant national and regional benefits.

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com.