STUCK IN REVERSE

Massive bipartisan spending bill may force Biden to cross one of his biggest 'red lines' with national fee

Although President Biden repeatedly objected to a national gas tax hike to fund the bipartisan infrastructural package, the $1 trillion bill unveiled by the Senate this week includes a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee pilot program that may violate one of his biggest "red lines." 

For months, White House officials argued that letting the federal gasoline tax rise at the rate of inflation broke his campaign promise to not hike taxes for any American who earned less than $400,000. The federal gas tax, which pays for the Highway Trust Fund, has remained at 18.4 cents a gallon since 1993 and has not kept up with inflation or the growing presence of fuel-efficient vehicles.