Federal Aid Hinges On Gas Tax, Murray Says

Federal transportation aid will be harder to get unless the state gasoline tax is increased, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said.

Appearing Wednesday at a City Club of Tacoma luncheon, Murray said others in the Senate ask what Washington state is doing on transportation funding.

“They’re watching what the states are doing,” she said. “It makes it very dificult to argue that this should be a priority if the state hasn’t stepped up.”

Voter approval of taxes to pay for the Seattle-area Regional Transit Authority made it easier to get the first $18 million in federal funds for the three-county project, said Murray, D-Wash.

Earlier this year a proposed 7-cent increase in the state gas tax stalled in the Legislature, largely because of concern about raising one tax while reducing general taxes.

“We need to know that transportation is a priority,” Murray said. “We need to see them move along on a gas tax and show that this is a priority for the state.

“That will help us back in Congress do the federal role in helping do these projects.”