HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) has called Gov. Tom Wolf’s Transportation Funding Commission’s recommendations “ill-timed and short-sighted” given the federal discussion on transportation infrastructure funding and Pennsylvania’s stagnant economic recovery.
The Transportation Funding Commission was formed by Wolf in March to develop funding solutions for transportation infrastructure in Pennsylvania. Their recommendations amount to across-the-board tax increases, including a per-mileage fee for Pennsylvania drivers.
In response, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) made the following statement:
“Raising multiple taxes on Pennsylvanians to pay for transportation infrastructure at this juncture is both ill-timed and short-sighted given the transportation infrastructure funding discussion happening at the federal level.
“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. 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.
“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.”