Rep Scott Garrett’s gas tax bill is stuck in neutral
AUGUST 3, 2014, 10:33 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2014, 10:56 PM
BY HERB JACKSON
RECORD COLUMNIST
THE RECORD
A last-minute bill that passed Congress last week closed a looming shortfall in the federal highway trust fund, ensuring that money from Washington continues flowing to states for road, bridge and transit projects through next May, instead of drying up later this month.
The stopgap bill, needed because gas taxes no longer raise enough money to support highway and transit spending, relies on several gimmicks, including increasing a customs fee in 2024 and spending all that “revenue” over the next 10 months.
But the long-term transportation financing would have been different if Rep. Scott Garrett, one of just two Republicans who opposed the bill on Thursday, had his way.
Instead of states sending money to Washington and waiting to see what comes back, Garrett, R-Wantage, would give states the option to keep the 18.4-cent federal gas tax paid within their borders and decide how to spend it without federal oversight.
“We would not have to literally beg Washington to get our own money back,” Garrett said in a brief interview last week. “We would not have to be limited or restricted on the purposes. If we felt the money should be used over here and Washington says ‘over there,’ we could spend it where we felt the people of New Jersey need it the most.”
What is not clear is whether New Jersey would want to take that option if it were available. Governor Christie’s office did not respond when asked it wanted to opt out of federal financing.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/jackson-garrett-s-gas-tax-bill-is-stuck-in-neutral-1.1061612#sthash.nQ8Gzd5Q.dpuf
