The US government should be ready to spend $200 million/year over 10 years for additional research and development of alternatives to petroleum-based motor fuels, a federal transportation policy advisory commission recommended.
The activity could occur in conjunction and coordination with programs already under way at the US Department of Energy, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission said Jan. 15.
It said the evolution of energy security for US transportation will require “a true public-private partnership, one that provides incentives for the private sector to accelerate the development of widely developed infrastructure for alternative fuels and for the incorporation of multiuse elements in new developments and land use planning.”
It urged Congress to establish accelerated tax credits and revolving loans to encourage early investments in alternatives. “Accelerated tax credits could also be made available to encourage the early transition of fleets and motor power away from dependence on petroleum-based fuels,” it said.
The recommendation for additional alternative motor fuel R&D was one of nine the commission made in its new report, “Transportation for Tomorrow.” It suggested new programs could be partially financed by increasing the federal fuel tax to 8¢/gal from 5¢/gal every year over 5 years and then indexing it to inflation.
US House Minority Whip Roy Blunt immediately criticized that idea as another attempt to enact new taxes. “As Congress and the administration work to create a package to stimulate our economy, it should be obvious that more than doubling the federal gas tax on working Americans would have precisely the opposite effect,” he maintained.
Congress created the commission in 2005 when it passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act, according to information on its web site. Its 12 members represent federal, state and local governments; metropolitan planning organizations; transportation-related industries; and public interest groups.