PRESS RELEASE
AAA Urges Congress to Block Tolling on Interstates
11 April 1997
AAA Urges Congress to Block Tolling on InterstatesWASHINGTON, April 10 -- AAA today urged Congress not to allow additional tolling facilities on the nation's Interstate Highway System. Appearing at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Frederick L. Gruel, vice chair of AAA's Public & Government Relations Committee, said: "Motorists have paid hundreds of billions in federal gas taxes to support the Interstate Highway System. Now, they are being asked to pay again with a toll." The Clinton Administration has submitted to Congress the National Economic Crossroads Transportation Efficiency Act which would allow states to impose new tolls on interstate highways. AAA believes that if Congress adopts the administration's toll proposal for interstates, it could destroy the user fee structure that has brought the nation the best and safest highway system in the world. "Telling Americans they have to pay tolls on interstates they have already paid for is not their idea of freedom of mobility," said Gruel, who is also president and CEO of the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club. AAA surveys consistently find more than 70 percent of drivers oppose tolling. Additional tolls on the interstates would be a form of double taxation. In addition, tolling would significantly aggravate congestion and slow traffic movement. Tolling is an inefficient method of collecting taxes. Fifteen percent of toll revenues are needed to fund the collection process while only one percent of motor fuel taxes are devoted to that purpose. AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 99 motor clubs with more than 1,000 offices providing its more than 39 million members in the United States and Canada with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services. SOURCE American Automobile Association
CONTACT: Bill Jackman of the American Automobile Association,
202-942-2050