GAS TAX: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE | LAB





















The League was honored to once again host Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) at the 2014 National Bike Summit, where he spoke about a very important piece of new legislation under consideration in the House.

The League has endorsed that bill, HR 3636: Update, Promote, and Develop America's Transportation Essentials Act of 2013, which increases the gas taxand indexes it for inflation for the years 2015 through 2024. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that by 2025, the gas tax should be repealed and replaced with a more sustainable, stable funding source for transportation funding. 

We've endorsed Blumenauer's bill because we believe the immediate chronic shortfall in transportation funding is detrimental for two critical reasons. 

One, the massive investment we've made over the past 50 years in a national transportation system that is increasingly multi-modal is threatened by the lack of funding to maintain the infrastructure we've already got. We have built a highway and transit system that connects communities and gives people unparalleled freedom to travel -- and that system is threatened if we allow it to deteriorate. As bicyclists, we are keenly aware of the impact of crumbling, potholed roads.

The safety and convenience of all road users is compromised if we are unable to replace aging signals and upgrade roads to reflect current vehicle technology and performance capabilities. The effectiveness of transit systems is compromised if aging rolling stock, track and signal systems are allowed to decay -- and if people are deterred from using transit everyone loses with the added congestion and frustration that brings to our roads...

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