Others, including Schumer, say undoing part of the rate cut wealthy Americans received in the 2017 tax overhaul should be on the table to limit any increase in the 18.4 cent-per-gallon gas tax.
Lawmakers who attended a closed-door meeting with Trump in February 2018 said he told them he’d support a 25-cent-per-gallon increase and take the political heat. But Republican leaders were opposed, and Trump never backed the idea publicly.
Infrastructure Week
Trump in his 2016 campaign pledged to invest at least $1 trillion on infrastructure, but the administration’s attempt to dedicate a week to focus on the issue has become a running Capitol Hill joke. The plan Trump released last year was panned because it included only $200 billion over a decade -- mostly in incentives to spur investments by states, localities and the private sector -- without a defined funding source.
Asked about fuel taxes on Monday, Kudlow said Trump “hadn’t made up his mind on any of that yet” and doesn’t have a specific dollar amount in mind for a package.
“We’re feeling our way on this, and we don’t have anything in concrete,” Kudlow added. “We’re developing our own policies internally, but we very much want to hear what the Senate and House members, what the Democrats want to say, and then we’ll try to react to that.”
While Trump has said he’s eager to work with Congress on infrastructure, Democrats say most Republicans won’t go along unless the president publicly endorses a plan, especially if it includes a tax increase.
‘Credible’ Funds
Complicating matters, other Democratic demands could expand the plan’s scope. In their Monday letter to Trump, Pelosi and Schumer said any deal must include clean energy measures, climate risk mitigation and investments in clean water, schools and housing. They also said the government should give priority to U.S. contractors owned by women, minorities and veterans.
Pelosi and Schumer will be accompanied Tuesday by other members of the congressional leadership and the leaders of committees on finance and infrastructure, according to congressional aides familiar with the meeting plans.