Mark Meadows: “If the gentleman from Oregon is suggesting that we do not pay for that fee in the ultimate gas tax that we--you know, he…”

“If the gentleman from Oregon is suggesting that we do not pay for that fee in the ultimate gas tax that we--you know, he is the chairman of the Transportation Committee. As anybody knows, he would know that it is embedded in part of that. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, the Federal gas and diesel tax hasn't changed since 1993, so the American people are not paying for that. The price of oil goes up and down according to speculation and wars and conflicts and all sorts of other things. But the fact is that is a fee paid by the oil companies that might or might not come out of their profits and goes into a fund, which is being underspent. To be consistent, I fully support and have supported fully expending the Land and Water Conservation Fund on a permanent program, on its intended and legislated purpose, and that is the same thing here. But this is, again, a little different. Anybody, today, who bought a good that came into a port in the United States of America in a container is paying a very small sales tax increment on that good on a bill signed by Ronald Reagan. That money is supposed to be spent to maintain our harbors. Our harbors are silting in. Jetties are falling apart. We can't accommodate, in some harbors that want to accommodate them, the new largest class of ships in the world. The most efficient way to move goods is on water. The least carbon- intensive way is to move goods on water.…”