The White House is weighing in several ways, including a vehicle mileage tax, to fund what are expected to be multimillion-dollar infrastructure proposals, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday.
Buttigieg, who spoke with CNBC’s Kayla Tausche, also argued that President Joe Biden’s upcoming plans to rebuild U.S. roads, bridges and waterways would lead to a net profit for the U.S. taxpayer and not a net expense. .
“When you think about infrastructure, it’s a classic example of the kind of investment that has a return on that investment,” he said. “This is one of the many reasons we believe this is so important. This is a work vision as much as an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and more.”
He also considered several potential revenue-generating options to fund the project. He spoke affectionately about a mileage rate, which would tax travelers based on the distance they travel rather than the amount of gasoline they consume.
Democrats have slowly moved away from a gas tax amid a simultaneous, climate-friendly effort to encourage consumers to drive electric cars.
Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Senate, Commerce and Transportation nomination hearings in the Senate to examine his long-awaited candidacy for secretary of transportation in Washington.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
“I’m really looking forward to making sure there are sustainable funding streams,” the transportation secretary said. A mileage tax “demonstrates a lot of promise if we believe in the so-called principle that the user pays: the idea that part of the way we pay by road is that you pay based on how much you drive.”
Secretary of Transportation’s comments came as President Joe Biden prepares to detail infrastructure proposals that could cost $ 3 billion to $ 4 trillion during a trip to Pittsburgh next week.
In his first press conference during his presidency, Biden said Thursday that rebuilding America’s physical and technological infrastructure was his next major task, critical not only to efforts to restore the economy but also to keep competing with rivals like China.
Buttigieg added Friday that the White House is considering resurrecting Build America bonds, a special class of municipal bonds first introduced to the Obama administration at US Treasury-funded interest costs.
The BABs show “a lot of promise in terms of how we take advantage of this type of funding. There have also been ideas about things like a national infrastructure bank.”
His statements on Friday came a day after he implored Congress on Thursday for a generational investment to improve the nation’s roads, bridges and waterways and combat climate change and racial inequality.
“There is an almost universal recognition that a broader recovery will require a national commitment to fix and transform U.S. infrastructure,” Buttigieg told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.