Gas-Tax Boost Best Way to Fund Highway Bill, Donohue Says

Raising the U.S. gasoline tax above 18.4 cents a gallon is the “simplest and most straightforward” way to fund a long-term highway bill, the president of the nation’s largest lobbying group for businesses told Congress.

Lawmakers need to embrace a higher gas tax despite the backlash over a similar proposal two years ago that prevented approval of a six-year highway funding bill, Thomas Donohue, the president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said today. The Chamber has endorsed legislation that would boost the tax by 15 cents a gallon over three years.