February 5, 2016 [OPIS] - President Obama is expected to include a new $10/bbl fee on crude oil in his 2016 fiscal year budget proposal, as a means to pay for a clean transportation system and reduce carbon pollution, the White House said Thursday.
Named the “21st Century Clean Transportation Plan,” the Obama administration touted the proposal, saying it would increase clean transportation investments by 50% while reforming current initiatives to help reduce carbon pollution, cut oil consumption and create new jobs.
“Our transportation system is heavily dependent on oil. That is why we are proposing to fund these investments through a new $10/bbl fee on oil paid by oil companies, which would be gradually phased in over five years,” the White House said in a statement.
The fee raises the funding necessary to make those new investments, while also providing for the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund to ensure the U.S. maintains its infrastructure, it said.
The White House said the new approach places a priority on reducing greenhouse gases, while working to develop a sustainable transportation sector.
Obama is expected to submit his budget proposal to Congress by next week. However, his plan will only serve as a conversation starter, because it is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Congress will embrace the president’s proposal especially in an election year.
The plan calls for investments of nearly $20 billion per year above current spending to reduce traffic, which includes making high-speed rail a viable alternative to flying in major regional corridors.
It would also invest $10 billion per year to transform regional transportation systems by shifting how local and state governments plan and implement new projects. The plan would create a new “Climate Smart Fund” that provides bonus funding to states that cut carbon pollution in the transportation sector.
In addition, the plan would spend $2 billion per year to launch a new generation of clean vehicles and aircraft, by launching pilot developments of “safe and climate smart autonomous vehicles.”
It would also include expanding funding to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Grant Program, and supports the creation of regional fueling infrastructure for low-carbon vehicles, the statement said.
A detail of the White House statement can be accessed by going to: http://go.wh.gov/RL55Cy.
