Senator Tom Carper says he wants to up the tax on gasoline and diesel and introduced a measure last week that would hike it by 4 cents a year over the next four years.
Then it would be indexed to keep up with inflation after that.
The Delaware Democrat said that it was important for those who use the nation’s highways to pay for the construction and maintenance of the country’s roads, bridges and transit systems.
As a member of the Senate Finance Committee he has called for a gradual rise in the federal gas tax to meet the declining revenues to the Highway Trust fund.
The Trust Fund has been hit by uncertainty with the increasingly fuel efficient cars as well as inflation.
The current tax rate per gallon of gas is 18.4 cents.
