Max Baucus: “this sounds good, repeal the 4.3-cent gasoline tax. Nobody likes paying taxes. We all know that. We also know we want…”

“this sounds good, repeal the 4.3-cent gasoline tax. Nobody likes paying taxes. We all know that. We also know we want our highways. If this amendment were to pass, we would be going backwards. Why do I say that? I say that, first, because it would, as the Senator from Delaware said, kill this bill. This is a killer amendment. This amendment would take about $6 billion a year away from the highway bill, $6 billion that would not be spent on highway construction, maintenance, et cetera. In addition, it is inadvisable because we are now at this point, with the passage of this bill and the defeat of this amendment, spending the money that comes into the highway trust fund back out on to highways. That is, the revenue coming in as a consequence of this bill will be used to finance spending on our roads and our highways. I might say, Mr. President, that polls confirm that Americans support the gas tax so long as the funds are being used on our highways. That is what this bill does. This amendment says, sorry, folks, we are not going to repair the roads and highways, not to the degree we should, and we are going to be derelict and not live up to our responsibilities. Today, all levels of government spending on highways and roads and bridges is about $34 billion a year. The Department of Transportation says we need more than that. It says we need $54 billion just to maintain current conditions, just to maintain. We need about $74 billion a year to improve.”