A proposal to create a new $20 fee on most passenger cars to help pay for Trump administration priorities may already be in danger thanks to Republicans loathe to create a new fee.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) released the details Tuesday of his committee’s contribution to the larger GOP megabill ahead of a planned Wednesday markup, which included the $20 annual fee indexed to inflation.
Graves said it is intended to lay the foundation for eventually doing away with the federal gasoline tax, which has helped pay for transportation projects since it was established in 1932. For now, though, the fee, which would be levied on gas-powered passenger cars, would be additive.
But Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) was outraged by the proposal and put it forward as an example of why he’s skeptical about how much the Republicans’ party-line package of tax cuts, border security investments, energy policies and more will actually reduce the federal deficit.
“Like, are you out of your fricking mind?” Roy said Tuesday upon reviewing the proposal. “Like, the party of limited government is gonna go out and, ‘say we’re gonna have [a car tax]?’”
“You know what I was told? ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll get rid of it later in the highway bill,’” Roy continued. He said the message he received is that the car tax is “a gimmick to pay for this, so we know that we’re not actually gonna pay for it. That’s how this town works.”
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said when the committee convenes to vote on the matter, he’s planning to vote “no,” calling the language “problematic.”
He said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) is working on an amendment that would modify the language, though he didn’t elaborate. Perry’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We’re trying to get the message to leadership that there’s got to be a better way to find the funds than to create a new national vehicle registration fee,” Burlison said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson separately told reporters the proposed fee wasn’t a priority of his, but also didn’t oppose the idea — a least not publicly.
These early reactions from some Republicans don’t bode well for the proposal. But if Graves succeeds, it would mark the first meaningful change to the excise tax revenues that pay for federal transportation projects since Bill Clinton was president — and a major move away from the political inaction on funding deficits that has been the cornerstone of the country’s transportation policy for decades.
Graves’ proposal would call for state departments of transportation to collect the fee and remit it to the Federal Highway Administration. It wouldn’t take effect until Oct. 1, 2030, and would expire four years later unless Congress renews it. Actually doing away with the gasoline tax would require subsequent legislation, as well.
