APA Statement on Federal Gas Tax Legislation
Statement from APA President Kurt Christiansen, FAICP, on Increasing the Gas Tax to Fund Federal Infrastructure Investments
The American Planning Association (APA) applauds the leadership of Rep. Earl Blumenauer in jump-starting the nation’s stalled, long overdue debate on federal infrastructure funding with legislation to raise the federal gas tax. The introduction of the Rebuild America Act (H.R. 2864) provides a pathway toward ensuring the solvency of our existing federal transportation program, addressing an infrastructure investment shortfall estimated at more than $1 trillion, and moving toward a more sustainable alternative funding source.
Planners are charged with charting a shared vision for the future and managing the disruptive challenges that lie ahead. Our members are all too aware of the acute transportation and mobility needs of the nation’s communities and the need to advance good planning for stronger and more prosperous places. Planning is the tool communities use to translate new infrastructure investment into an expanded opportunity for people and places. This requires new investment and better policies. The Rebuild America Act can help address both by raising needed revenue and creating a foundation for more comprehensive reform.
APA’s newly adopted policy guide on surface transportation outlines a range of solutions to improve the planning and performance of the nation’s transportation system. Effective planning ensures that our infrastructure investments are not simply about building more but about creating a system that advances health, resilience, safety, livability, and opportunity. Stabilizing federal transportation funding and creating a more sustainable long-term revenue solution is essential to this vision.
As leaders from Capitol Hill head back to the White House this week to seek agreement on funding options, this legislation offers a way forward. We urge Congress to seize this moment to address our infrastructure crisis with the real funding solution outlined in The Rebuild America Act.