Letter: Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran on gasoline tax

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1. July 7, 2003

   Mr. James Landrith
   PO Box 8208
   Alexandria, Virginia 22306

   Dear Mr. Landrith:

   Thank you for contacting me regarding proposals before Congress to raise the federal excise tax on gasoline. I regret that we may differ on this issue.

   I would prefer to see this option kept open. No one would expect the road system and limited transit service that existed in the 1970s to serve us today. Yet much of the transportation infrastructure in this region was designed and built more than 30 years ago and has already reached the saturation point. A disruption on any single thoroughfare, be it rail or road, can overwhelm other roadways and shut down the entire region. Rush hour conditions in this region are becoming a 24-hour phenomenon.

   The Northern Virginia congressional delegation has worked hard to secure additional federal funding for our local transportation network. Federal funds are there for such key projects as the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, the Springfield interchange, Metro expansion as well as generous grants supporting VRE, local transit improvements, and the 14th Street Bridge. While the federal government shouldn’t be the source of all local transportation improvements, the state’s role in recent years has been diminished. The Gilmore administration mismanaged its transportation programs and raided revenues dedicated to transportation to artificially prop up the state budget. The Warner administration has found itself in a position where it cannot fulfill the obligations listed on the state-approved six-year transportation plan. As Governor Wamer works to revamp and reform the Department of Transportation’s management and operations, he was forced to cut up to one-third of the proposed projects. Given this unfortunate situation the federal program takes on even greater importance. Today, more than half of Virginia’s transportation program is financed by federal grants derived from the federal excise tax on gasoline.

   Funding will be severely limited for critically important transportation improvements such as transit service to Tysons Corner and Dulles, improvements along the Route 1 corridor, extension of HOV lanes along 1-66 and I-95, and more rail cars for Metro and VRE. Raising the federal excise tax on gasoline or adjusting to the rate of inflation would generate billions in new revenue annually enabling not only this region, but the nation at large to update and improve its transportation infrastructure. The Greater Washington Board of Trade estimates that local residents, on a per capita basis, pay more than $1,595 each year in lost time and wages, higher delivery costs for goods and services, and gasoline consumption from too many engines idling in traffic. Given the choice, I would prefer to pay a few pennies more at the pump than waste a greater amount sitting in gridlock.

   For your consideration, I invite you to visit my new and updated website at http://www.house.gov/moran that contains information on topics that may be of interest. Thank you again for contacting me.

   Yours truly,

   James P. Moran

   JPM/tba

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