The dim's are behind it so this is good, right?

Wow, I can't wait.....I don't drive much so it won't affect me.  I'm all
for it.  Bring it on!!!  Maybe I'll even get some money back, :)

<http://wcco.com/politics/oberstar.vehicles.tax.2.996701.html>

WASHINGTON (AP)  


   Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., said he believes the technology exists
to implement a mileage tax.  

A House committee chairman said Tuesday that he wants Congress to enact
a mileage-based tax on cars and trucks to pay for highway programs now
rather than wait years to test the idea.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., said he believes the technology exists to
implement a mileage tax. He said he sees no point in waiting years for
the results of pilot programs since such a tax system is inevitable as
federal gasoline tax revenues decline.

"Why do we need a pilot program? Why don't we just phase it in?" said
Oberstar, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
chairman. Oberstar is drafting a six-year transportation bill to fund
highway and transit programs that is expected to total around a half
trillion dollars.

A congressionally mandated commission on transportation financing
alternatives recommended switching to a vehicle-miles traveled tax, but
estimated it would take a decade to put a national system in place.

"I think it can be done in far less than that, maybe two years,"
Oberstar said at a House hearing. He was responding to testimony by Rep.
Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who recommended that the transportation bill
include pilot programs in every state to test the viability of a
mileage-based tax.

Blumenauer said public acceptance, not technology, is the main obstacle
to a mileage-based tax.

Pilot programs "would be able to increase public awareness and comfort
and it would hasten the day we could make the transition," Blumenauer
said.

Oberstar shrugged off that concern.

"I'm at a point of impatience with more studies," Oberstar said. He
suggested that Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the highways and
transit subcommittee, set up a meeting of transportation experts and
members of Congress to figure out how it could be done.

The tax would entail equipping vehicles with GPS technology to determine
how many miles a car has been driven and whether on interstate highways
or secondary roads. The devices would also calculate the amount of tax
owed.

"At this point there are a lot of things that are under consideration
and there is also a strong need to find revenue," Oberstar spokesman Jim
Berard said. "A vehicle miles-traveled tax is a logical complement, and
perhaps a future replacement, for fuel taxes."

Gas tax revenues -- the primary source of federal funding for highway
programs -- have dropped dramatically in the last two years, first
because gas prices were high and later because of the economic downturn.
They are forecast to continue going down as drivers switch to fuel
efficient and alternative fuel vehicles.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has ruled out raising gas taxes to
make up for the funding shortfall, and the White House has rejected a
mileage-based tax. They have not offered an alternative.

"The funding of the highway trust fund is a complex issue that will
require consultation with Congress and consideration of a number of
creative ideas," said Transportation Department spokeswoman Jill
Zuckman. "The secretary looks forward to working with Chairman Oberstar
and others as they consider how to keep the highway trust fund going."

A mileage-based tax has been unpopular in some states where it has been
proposed. Critics say it unfairly penalizes drivers who live in rural
areas and intrudes on privacy.

"When we can solve the equity issues to a majority's satisfaction in the
Congress, when we can solve the privacy issues to the satisfaction of
the American people, we can look at moving forward, but I just don't
think we have the data or the experience right now to say we can set a
timeline or a deadline," DeFazio said in a recent interview."