ATR has not endorsed any legislation dealing with the present highway bill in the House or Senate.
ATR does not endorse the outline of a proposal by Senators Murphy and Corker today.
The tax increases in that proposal are certain and permanent, and there is a vague and uncertain discussion of offsetting tax reductions.
ATR has been clear that the problem with the highway trust fund and the present gas tax is that the Davis-Bacon Act drives up the cost of construction by 25 percent or more and much of the gas tax money paid by drivers of cars and trucks is siphoned off to pay for mass transit.
The highway trust fund does not have an under-taxing problem. It has an overspending problem. There is no good reason to raise the gas tax.