Susan Collins: Bipartisan infrastructure plan proposes user tax for electric vehicle 'free riders'

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Sunday gave CBS News' John Dickerson a breakdown of how a bipartisan group of senators haggling with the White House on an infrastructure package aims to pay for their proposal.
For starters, Collins dismissed reports suggesting the senators' plan includes a gas-tax increase. Instead, she said the payment strategy involves "the implementation of an infrastructure financing authority that's very similar to the state revolving funds that we used for sewer and water projects," repurposing unused COVID-19 funding — Collins pointed to California's "enormous surplus" as an example — strictly for "water, sewer, and broadband," and, finally, "a provision for electric vehicles to pay for their share of using our roads and bridges." Collins said the justification for the electric vehicle idea is that their drivers "are literally free riders because they're not paying any gas tax."
The White House, though, has repeatedly said it will oppose a mileage tax for electric vehicles because it would violate President Biden's pledge not to raise taxes on any individuals making less than $400,000 per year, The New York Times reported last week.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 1 October 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: October 1, 2023
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: October 1, 2023
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Government shutdown avoided as Congress passes temporary funding bill
Speed Read The bill will fund the government through Nov. 17
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Will the cannabis banking bill get the Senate's green light?
Talking Point The SAFER Banking Act is advancing to the US Senate for the first time, clearing a major hurdle for legal cannabis businesses. Does it stand a chance?
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Sen. Bob Menendez charged with federal corruption, bribery
The longtime New Jersey Democrat finds himself in another round of legal peril
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Government shutdown odds spike as House GOP hardliners thwart McCarthy, spending bills
Speed Read House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's caucus is in disarray, and the US is now hurtling toward an avoidable debacle
By Peter Weber Published
-
The Senate's nixed dress code isn't short of mixed reactions
Why Everyone's Talking About Conservatives are taking issue with the axing of a longstanding Senate tradition
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Boebert denied vaping before 'Beetlejuice' ejection, but the video shows otherwise
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said she was asked to leave for having too much fun, not breaking the rules. Roll the tape!
By Peter Weber Published