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Texas Gas Prices
Highway Trust Fund Almost Broke; Local Lawmaker Blames Democrats Save Email Print

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(September 6, 2008)—U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters says the federal highway trust fund will run out of money this month because the high price of gasoline has prompted Americans to drive less.

That means motorists are using less gasoline and paying less in federal gasoline taxes, which is the source of the trust fund’s money.

At a midday press conference Friday, Peters said the agency will have to delay payments to state road and bridge projects that the federal government is helping finance.

At the same time, she wants Congress to pass legislation that includes $8 billion to help cover the shortfall.

Four times this year, Republicans in the Senate have blocked a measure that would shore up the fund.

“Time and again, the President has warned Congress of the pending shortfall and submitted fiscally prudent budgets to close the gap,” Peters said Friday.

“Americans cannot afford to have Congress play ‘kick the can’ with highway funding for another year, another month, or frankly, another week.”

Republican Central Texas Congressman John Carter, however, blames inaction by Democrats on energy legislation for the situation.

“When is Speaker Pelosi going to get the picture? At what point in time will the Democrat majority come back to Washington from their five week vacation and pass sound energy policy?” Carter said in a statement released Friday.
Carter says he’s “strong supporter” of legislation to transfer $8 billion from the general fund to the highway trust fund.
“The Senate needs to pass this bill and get it to the president, but this short-term solution isn’t enough to cover Texas’ highway needs let alone the mistakes made by the Democratic Congress,” he said.

Department Of Transportation Web Site


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Posted by: LN Location: Robinson on Sep 16, 2008 at 03:32 PM
Anonymous: You obviously have a computer to research the shale oil find in the northern states. Google it. Research Alaska and oil. Google it. And you might have to look past one page as Google sometimes buries things. Research!

Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 10, 2008 at 07:12 PM
Please name your sources for your assertion that there is plenty of oil right here in the United States. That is certainly contrary to what has been put out for the public. If so, that is good news. Please let me know where to find this information.

Posted by: Just sayin is all Location: Ft Hood on Sep 9, 2008 at 07:29 AM
TEXASLEGAL - You have a point. There IS plenty of blame to go around and they are SUPPOSED to work for us, but over the years they went from representing us to protecting us from ourselves and thats on both sides. Amen brother.

Posted by: TEXASLEGAL on Sep 8, 2008 at 07:27 PM
There is plenty of blame to share for the Dems and Repubs. We citizens are too involved watching American Idol or playing Wee to pay attention what goes on around us in the government. So it is more OUR fault because we have become sheeple not patriots. While you sit on your couch the politicos have been having a field day in government. If you are to lazy to get involved other than to blame others then you deserve what you get. Instead of blaming everyone else, DO SOMETHING. They work for US! We have seen nothing yet. The Fannie and Freddy spectacle is just starting and will turn into the worst financial disaster this country has ever seen. So either put up or shut up!

Posted by: Anonymous Location: Austin on Sep 8, 2008 at 07:10 PM
If you think the highway trust fund is almost broke, just get Obama in there and you are going to see a lot more broke than the highway fund folks. I get tired of hearing the republicans are to blame when it isn't so.

Posted by: rick Location: waco on Sep 8, 2008 at 05:30 PM
you people need to wake up. the democrats are the reason this world is in the shape its in. you need to check the whole story out before you start blaming someone , thats what grade school kids do. you people really make me sick.

Posted by: LN Location: Robinson on Sep 8, 2008 at 04:44 PM
Anonymous at 3:06: You just keep drinking that koolaid honey. FYI, there is enough oil in the upper central part of this country in the shale oil find to run this country for over 100 years at current consumption levels. And that is only in one place. Offshore they have no idea but it is at least 20 billion barrels just in the Gulf. And that does not include what we have in Alaska. They just found another field up there that has more oil than Pruhdoe Bay, and we have been pulling from that for the last 40 years and it is still going strong. We have PLENTY of oil here in this country. I will agree that the Repubs have not been the best but they are a far cry from the liberal left who just want to retreat in defeat, raise taxes and throw government health care that we don't want at us. Not to mention amnesty for illegals to shore up their political base.

Posted by: Anonymous Location: Waco on Sep 8, 2008 at 03:06 PM
There is not enough oil here in our country to give us anything but extremely short term relief..and that relief would be years away and some of it would be environmentally disasterous...as long as we continue the way we are (Bush and Republican policies), we will be dependent on the oil we must buy from other countries. Bush and Republicans have done nothing to accelerate renewable fuel source creations. The Republican controlled Congress many times would not let it even be discussed. Thank God they are not in control anymore. The Republicans and George Bush administration have done a lot of damage America and to the world. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It will take decades to overcome the very poor shape we are in due to them.

Posted by: Just sayin is all Location: Ft Hood on Sep 8, 2008 at 02:06 PM
Look, You cant blame everything that went on during Clintons administration on Clinton alone, and let me just say from a military member standpoint, there was PLENTY going wrong. And you cant blame everything that goes wrong now, on President Bush and yes there has been stuff going wrong. There is always give and take and good and bad going on in washington. I just get sick and tired of everyone heaping it on the shoulders of one man. Its like some sick twisted game of who can blame the most on President Bush. And its a load of horse pucky. Personally I am proud of him. At least he has kept most of his promises or at least tried to. And since I dont know that I could have done better with Iraq, Im gonna keep my mouth shut. And last but not least, at least he kept "willie" in a cage. YOU might not have been embarassed by that, but I was.

Posted by: LN Location: Robinson on Sep 8, 2008 at 11:56 AM
You lefties need to quit getting your ideas from the talking points and go READ what was happening 2 years ago. The home foreclosure mess was created by relaxed rules on how much you qualified for based on income. Who passed these rules? The Dems. Now we have a foreclosure problem based on nothing more than peoples stupidity for buying more than they can afford on a floating percentage loan. Our fault? No, but we get to pay for it. The loan copanies get blamed but the homeowners that got these loans need to look in the mirror. The downturn in the economy is directly attributeable to the cost of fuel. And why is this high? The Dems. Your Saint and Savior, the Messiah, Barack Obama said that he was glad and it was good that fuel prices were as high as they were to "force us to get off of oil". And who is blocking exploration and drilling in this country to keep us on foreign oil? The Dems. And who wants to RAISE taxes? The Dems. Give me a break.

Posted by: Me Location: Work on Sep 8, 2008 at 09:04 AM
I don't know where you were 18 months ago but in my book things were not going good. Things have been spirling down hill since Clinton left.Come on people. Bush has spent all of the surplus we had. America has to have a change in order to survive. I am not sure Obama can do it but McCain is the same as Bush and we can not afford another 4 years of Republicans.

Posted by: Just sayin is all Location: Ft Hood on Sep 8, 2008 at 07:59 AM
To all you Republicans blaming the Liberals and to all you liberals blaming Bush. Read the paper, look at the bills trying to be passed and see what ELSE was attached to the bills to get the full picture. And by the way, WHO holds the majority in Congress right now? And how has HAD the majority for almost 2 years?

Posted by: Wacoan Location: Waco on Sep 8, 2008 at 07:49 AM
Joe, you're a real fool if you think everything tanked in just the last year or so. U>S> ON wrong track for a long time.Glad you are not running this country. You would not see this train wreck coming until the engine ran over all of us! Republicans made this mess. George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove masterminded this world mess. As for Sadam Hussein, there are over 100 terible tyrants like him still in power. We cannot police the world--- We can't afford it! OIL was the reason for invading IRAQ! OIL and revenge on the part of George W> Bush. IRAQ has cost us many precious lives, horrific life-changing injuries and billions of our needed dollars, with no end in sight. IRAQ is an Unnecessary War we can't afford. And what about Osama Bin Laden? Rememeber him? --and the 911 victims? Should have blown Afghanistan off the map--instead we invade IRAQ! FAILURE BIGTIME!!That is Bush's Legacy!

Posted by: LN Location: Robinson on Sep 8, 2008 at 07:31 AM
The FEDERAL LEGISLATURE over the last 2 years, and that would be the DEMS, has proposed spending BILLIONS of your dollars on projects that really are not necessary. The REPUBS block them to save money and not waste it and get blamed for this? If some of you people would actually read and study it a little you would find the mess we are in is directly attributable to the Dems. They refuse to access our own natural resources, instead continuing the policy of being under the thumb of the raghead dictators. Don't ya'll remember Sen. J. Kerry jawboning Pres. Bush for not getting more oil from the Saudis? The feds get 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline. Since we have been driving less, they get less. The tax doesn't rise and fall with the price of gas. We NEED to drill here, drill now. We NEED to develop renewable energy sources. We NEED to conserve. If we don't do all of these things we will continue to be at the mercy of people who don't like us. WAKE UP!

Posted by: Joe Location: Waco on Sep 8, 2008 at 02:09 AM
Everything was going good up to two about 18 months ago, the stock market was at it peak, housing was strong, jobless rate was at a low, and then low and behold the big spending democrats took control and promised to raise taxes and everything went to the dogs, and for as Irag less we forget what a tirrant that rag head was and think God we had a president with eough courage to stand up to him and the idiots we have in control of our congress.

Posted by: Anonymous Location: bryan on Sep 7, 2008 at 07:42 PM
We'd have plenty of money to spend on America if George Bush hadn't poured billions down that rathole called IRAQ! And is STILL pouring billions down that rathole of a country while our own country suffers!

Posted by: Wacoan Location: Waco on Sep 7, 2008 at 02:00 PM
Republicans have had eight years of having everything their way in Congress and the President, and have not remedied this problem. Suddenly it is all the fault of the Democrats? What happened to not blaming others and to take responsibilty for your actions or inactions, a Republican mantra? If they took responsibilty and told the truth, Yes we Republicans actually are responsible for this disaster, they would be hated even more by the American people. And you want four more years of Republican screw-ups, that it will take years to recover from? Smart people don't. They dont want the same old wrong-track status quo! The American people want change and they will not get that with a Palin/ McCain presidency.

Posted by: Dennis Location: home on Sep 7, 2008 at 11:15 AM
republicans want to privatize , everything , i see more and more toll roads. they want to make money

Posted by: Common Sense Location: Waco on Sep 7, 2008 at 09:37 AM
Wait a cotton pickin minute. How in the same Hell can they be SHORT when gasoline is ABOVE $3 a gallon???? What the Hell did they do when gas was a buck a gallon????? I agree with Mike. I am SURE they've raped and pillaged the poor fund to death!

Posted by: Mac Location: TX on Sep 7, 2008 at 07:27 AM
Excuse to help start up a state income tax!

Posted by: Hank Location: Belton on Sep 7, 2008 at 01:02 AM
The Democratic response to every problem raise taxes and we can spend more money. Wake folk's and fire these people.

Posted by: Joe Location: Waco on Sep 7, 2008 at 12:58 AM
The Dems have a bad habit of attaching ear marks to bills like this so when the reb fight against them it makes it look like they are the one's doing the harm. The American tax payers I repeat The American tax payers need to wake up to ear mark spending the Dems are passing through these so call bills. Bur with Pelosi's lap puupies like Chet Edwards I don't beleive they will!!!

Posted by: Skeptical Location: Waco on Sep 6, 2008 at 06:14 PM
Did I read this right? "FOUR TIMES REPUBLICANS BLOCKED LEGISLATION THAT WOULD SHORE UP this fund?" And they are trying to blame it on Democrats? What kind of fool do you think I am?!!? Oh, wait, I remember now--I did vote for George Bush! I guess I am THAT kind of fool!

Posted by: Anonymous Location: waco on Sep 6, 2008 at 06:10 PM
hey, why don't we ask IRAQ for a loan of a couple of billion dollars of our own money we gave them so we can fix our own "infrastructure." That's what makes Americans so mad...plenty of billions of dollars for Iraq, a country we destroyed and are now spending more on than our own country..but there's not a dime to spare for America! And you wonder why folks abhor George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, etc. And this money treasure is nothing compared to the blood of our brave soldiers that has been spilled over there. And, to top it off--Osama Bin Laden still walks the earth a free man, living, breathing and sleeping. Unlike our 911 victims. Makes me want to vomit!

Posted by: Mike Location: Cove on Sep 6, 2008 at 04:43 PM
The real truth is that Congress has continued to raid the Highway Trust Fund to pay for everything except highways, or to pay for decorative highway projects that serve no purpose.

Posted by: clay Location: woodway on Sep 6, 2008 at 01:30 PM
I am sure the Democrates would take the blame for the highway trust fund being broke IF ALL YOU REPUBLICIANS take the blame for ALL the other United States problems that BUSH and his Republician screw ups are responsible for!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: MelP Location: Waco on Sep 6, 2008 at 11:42 AM
You know the democrats' answer is going to be to raise the gasoline tax. They will either do it at the pump or tax oil companies heavily so they will pass the higher price onto to us. Either way, the democrats, once again will hit us in the pocketbook. Thanks, Chet and Pelosi.

Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 6, 2008 at 09:58 AM
Congressman John Carter what an idiot republicans block the measure and he blames democrats just how stupid is this guy ?

Posted by: News Watcher Location: Waco on Sep 6, 2008 at 09:18 AM
Sounds like Carter needs to stop pointing the finger at the Dems and turn the finger around to him and his party. His group has been in the majority for six of the eight years and he is still pointing the finger. When Bush (his party) leaves office, and hopefully someone comes in that knows how to work with both parties, maybe this country will get back on the right path. Carter needs the quit pointing fingers and start working on a solution with the opposition, or get out of the kitchen.

Posted by: vicki Location: texas on Sep 6, 2008 at 06:09 AM
how can they be broke? as much taxs that we pay and when you register your vehicle there is a tax for road repairs. and its not only the demacrates to blame its both parties. its funny how we point the finger at people but the whole thing of it is they are all to blame. and we the tax payers are the ones who pay for it in the long run/ where is all our money that we pay for taxs going?

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