Rep. Benninghoff: Transportation funding report “ill-timed, short-sighted”

The Transportation Revenue Options Commission recently submitted a report to Gov. Tom Wolf and the General Assembly on transportation funding.

The report contains an overview and outlines potential revenue sources along with an analysis of each option, which includes tolls, redirecting funding, taxes, fees, and road user charges.

“The timing and scope of these recommended multiple tax increases is even more frustrating given Pennsylvania’s continued struggle to recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic,” House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) said. “Thanks to economic policies supported by both the Biden and Wolf administrations, Pennsylvanians are currently forced to deal with rising gas prices that show no signs of decreasing, runaway inflation that is devaluing every dollar they earn, and diminished national energy independence once fueled by Pennsylvania’s homegrown energy sector.”

The commission recommends leadership and technical teams be established to support lawmakers’ evaluation and implementation of potential funding options.

“Before we go imposing multiple tax increases on Pennsylvanians who are already paying too much and receiving too little in return, raising the cost of commerce and energy, and prohibitively pricing Pennsylvania out of its status as the Keystone State, we should first see what comes out of ongoing federal discussions and how our continued economic recovery progresses,” Benninghoff said.