Editorial: Oberstar to state: Raise the gas tax by Staff Writer Appearing in Minneapolis Star Tribune on 2007-02-25. Congress will help on transportation if Minnesota steps up. Jim Oberstar wants a partner. The new chairman of the House Transportation Committee (a title that makes Oberstar the nation's most powerful figure when it comes to planes, trains and automobiles) wants badly to give his home state the full benefit of his influence -- and the ample federal dollars that flow with it -- if only Minnesota will clasp his hand. But it will not. At least not so far. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has made plain his disinterest in putting up the money needed to leverage federal dollars to begin solving Minnesota's long-brewing transportation crisis. Why? Because, as Oberstar pointed out to an overflow crowd at a joint transportation committee session in St. Paul last week, it would require raising the state's user fee on gasoline, a user fee that the governor prefers to spell "t-a-x." Thus, the discussion is ended and the partnership precluded. Other states will be happy to take Minnesota's money, Oberstar said. Forty-five of them have raised their gasoline taxes since Minnesota last raised its in 1988, and many have committed local matches for building transit systems, making them more reliable partners than Minnesota. It's a point that business should especially understand: A partner who won't ante up isn't much of a partner. Asked if he had a message for the governor, Oberstar paused, then said politely: "Face up to the reality." Indeed, Pawlenty's reluctance makes him look out-of-date considering the investments other Republican governors have made on several fronts in recent years. His no-new-taxes song has fallen to golden oldie status as attention shifts to the obvious need for basic investment, in this case, in transportation. Drive through almost any state and you'll ride on better roads. Visit any comparable metro area and you'll find a better and rapidly expanding transit system. Minnesota looks threadbare. It has been slow to grasp the economic peril of falling behind competitors, slow to feel the tragedy of unsafe rural roads, and slow to understand that the right kind of transportation investments are essential to meeting the challenges of climate change and energy independence. This is not just about metro traffic congestion. On power plants, Pawlenty's shift toward renewable energy is laudable. But on transportation, he keeps pushing the problem to the future with more borrowing and more dreamy talk of a "mileage tax," all the while reciting the old line about people not wanting a gas tax hike. Well, no one wants a gas tax hike except when it's clear that that's the only way to get better roads. And now, thanks to Oberstar, it should be crystal clear. "Minnesota must step up," he said. Raising the gas tax a nickel would yield $160 million a year and, with the federal match, leverage a total of $806 million more for highways. Applying an additional, similar-sized sales tax to gasoline would solve the transit problem. Asked about the declining value of the gas tax as drivers shift to more efficient cars, Oberstar offered the most sensible solution: raise the tax. Indeed, the best mileage tax is the gas tax because it encourages conservation, helps the environment, reduces foreign oil dependency and lays the foundation for a sustainable transportation system. The Senate has the votes to override Pawlenty's promised veto of a meaningful transportation bill. House members of both parties must now find the courage to do likewise.

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