Indiana House GOP chooses tax increases over simple, fair road plan offered by House Democrats

INDIANAPOLIS — State Rep. Dan Forestal (D-Indianapolis) today issued the following statement after Indiana House Republicans rejected a House Democratic proposal that would use existing tax revenues to provide more than $2 billion for road and bridge improvement projects across the state:

“Today, the people of Indiana were given their clearest indication of the paths that could be taken to improve Indiana’s lousy infrastructure.

“Indiana House Democrats offered a plan that would use the sales tax we already pay at the gas pump to fund state and local road and bridge projects. This plan would have provided $2 billion in funding for those projects in just the first four years.

[Rep. Forestal outlines Democratic amendment proposal in this mp3 file.]

“Indiana House Republicans said no.

“They support a plan that will raise taxes. It will raise the gasoline tax and the cigarette tax. It will create a tax on registrations for electric vehicles. It will open the door for turning some of our interstates into toll roads.

“Indiana House Republicans prefer a risky program that raises taxes and doesn’t guarantee a thing. Most people cannot even understand what they are trying to do except raise taxes.

“There is a simple, fair way to improve Indiana’s roads and bridges. Indiana House Democrats have offered it without raising a single tax.

“We will continue to speak out for our plan through the rest of the 2016 legislative session. We will not support tax increases that we do not need.”