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

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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
4 ways to cover unexpected home repairs
The Explainer Home is where the heart is — but it might cost you
-
Why is Trump attacking Intel's CEO?
Today's Big Question Concerns about Lip-Bu Tan's Chinese connections
-
One great cookbook: 'Salt to Taste'
The Week Recommends Your roadmap to satisfying Italian home cooking
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crime
Speed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats