Petri Blumenauer Propose Hiking Federal Gas Tax

The federal gasoline tax, which has not gone up in twenty years, funds about twenty-five percent of Wisconsin’s transportation spending, according to Craig Thompson with the Transportation Development Association. He says even a modest increase would help at the state level, but whether that’s in the cards or not remains to be seen.  Wisconsin Republican congressman Tom Petri and Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer are proposing an increase in the tax, but Thompson says the prospects for that are not good. Wisconsin is facing a projected $680 million shortfall to fund transportation needs, and the state DOT recently proposed a funding plan that includes an increase in state fuel taxes, something that could be a tough sell in the legislature.