During his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama called for Congress to pass a “bipartisan infrastructure plan.” However, Obama never mentioned the possibility of raising the federal gas tax.
“21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure — modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet. Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this,” Obama said while criticizing Republicans for putting more focus on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
“So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline,” he continued. “Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come.”
The possibility of raising the 18.4 cent-per-gallon gas tax for the first time since 1993 has started to gain some steam, especially with gas prices continuing to decline. Obama, however, sees a big benefit in lower gas prices.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
“Thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save $750 at the pump,” Obama said.
The pressure is on Congress to figure out a fair way to pay for the country’s infrastructure.
