May 3, 2019 – According to a report on The Hill, a republican legislator is calling for the doubling of the federal gas tax and airline fees in order to pay for the $2 trillion infrastructure package being negotiated by President Trump and Democratic leaders. Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is urging Congress to double the 18.4-cents-per-gal. gasoline tax, which has not been raised in more than a quarter century. He also wants to double the existing fee that airline passengers pay per flight.
“I not only support increasing the gas tax; I support doubling it. I support doubling the airline passenger fee from $4.50 to $8 or $9. Those are user fees. I won’t even call it a tax,” Collins told The Hill in an interview after Trump and Democratic leaders agreed to try to fund a $2 trillion bill to improve the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
“If you don’t want to pay the airline user fee, don’t fly. And if you don’t want to pay the gas fee, you don’t have to drive,” added Collins, who also believes that a third of the infrastructure package could be completed through public-private partnerships. “We need real pay-fors. This is a direct, real pay-for.”