Ag groups add their opposition to truck-only VMT

A truck-only vehicle miles tax would increase truck transportation costs, lower market prices and reduce market share for U.S. agriculture, warns a coalition of agricultural commodities groups. In a Feb. 21 letter sent to both the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, a group of 29 national associations and 49 state and regional groups representing growers, livestock and dairy producers asked for the committee to include “broad-based funding mechanisms to ensure all who benefit from the transportation system contribute fairly to upgrading and maintaining America’s roads and bridges.” The letter specifically asks the committee not to use a truck-only VMT tax. “As you work to advance a surface transportation reauthorization bill, our organizations urge you to create a legislative package that includes funding supported by all road users,” the letter states. “We caution against the use of funding, such as a truck-only vehicle miles tax, that would place a disproportionate share of the burden on freight transportation.”