Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/358154
August 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 27 Highway Funding talk of a gas tax. They're no longer laughing us (or throwing us) out of the room. Instead, there seems to be a growing recognition that it's the only real way to solve the problem. For evidence, look no further than Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) who recently became the first Republican senator to openly endorse a gas tax increase. While the gas tax is the obvious near-term solution, it has some long- term structural problems. Our 2013 William & Mary study showed that increased fuel efficiency and alterna- tive fuels are going to eat away at gas tax revenues. And if more people are driving non-gas vehicles, not paying the gas tax, and not contrib- uting to build and maintain roads, it ceases to be a true user fee. Never- theless, gas cars are almost certainly going to remain the vehicle of choice for at least the next two decades, which means a gas tax increase now would restore the trust fund and give lawmakers some breathing room to come up with a much longer-term funding solution, like a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax. What's Next? On the night of July 31, as CED was literally heading to press, Congress sent the president legislation (H.R. 5021) to keep highway and transit construction money flowing to the states through May 2015. "While we're relieved that H.R. 5021 is on its way to the president's desk, this isn't a moment to cel- ebrate," said AED President and CEO Brian McGuire. "By waiting until the last minute to solve a problem we've known for years was coming, Con- gress brought the highway program and the construction industry to the brink of disaster." Extending funding and program authorization through May 2015 means that we will be fighting the same battle again next year in a potentially more difficult political en- vironment (a debt ceiling fight, many new members of Congress unfamiliar with HTF issues, [possibly] the inevita- ble chaos associated with a new party in control in the Senate, and the start of the presidential campaign season). However, AED and its allies will keep pressure on for Congress to consider a long-term fix during lame duck. Bottom line, the enormity of the problem means that there's also a historic opportunity to solve the funding problem once and for all. We'll keep fighting. We hope you will, too. CHRISTIAN A. KLEIN is AED's vice president of Government Affairs. ï /DUJH &RPSUHKHQVLYH/LQHRI6WUHHW6ZHHSHUV ï 8QLTXH 7LPH3URYHQ'HVLJQV ï 1R&'/5HTXLUHGIRU0RGHOV ï 6LJQLĆFDQW3URGXFW'LIIHUHQWLDWLRQ 3URĆW0DUJLQV ï 8QVXUSDVVHG'HDOHU6XSSRUW6\VWHP ())(&7,9(/<6,03/( ())(&7,9(/<6,03/( :HOFRPLQJ1HZ'HDOHUV IRU6HOHFW7HUULWRULHV &DOO-RKQIRUPRUHLQIR_ZZZVWHZDUWDPRVFRP