Roy Blunt: “next week we have a chance to give taxpayers some tax relief simply by spending their tax dollars the way they were…”

“next week we have a chance to give taxpayers some tax relief simply by spending their tax dollars the way they were supposed to be spent. We are going to be dealing in the House with a highway bill that has the potential to take the highway trust fund off budget so that it can never again be used to mask the size of the deficit. In other words, this highway bill enable us to spend highway money to really help the infrastructure and the transportation needs of America. If we are going to maintain a highway trust fund and collect tax revenues for it, then we should spend that money for transportation needs. If we can't do that, or won't do that, then we should eliminate the gas tax and the trust fund altogether. Many of our colleagues think we ought to continue to 'borrow' from the highway trust fund to make the budget look better than it really is. We have a chance to say no to that kind of 'sleight of hand' next week. Spending money for the purpose we tell taxpayers we're collecting it for is one of the kinds of tax relief that taxpayers will appreciate. One of our priorities should be 'truth in taxing.'”