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March 14, 2003 10:00 AM, EST

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img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>WASHINGTON — The Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said they were jointly proposing to raise the federal tax on diesel and gasoline to help raise $75 billion to improve the nation’s highways and bridges.

Under their plan, the diesel tax would jump by 7.2 cents a gallon Oct. 1 and gasoline would go up 5.4 cents. The Bush administration has said it opposes raising fuel taxes.

"I don't consider these taxes," said the committee chairman, Don Young (R-Alaska). "It's a user fee and people are willing to pay that, if they know it will be used for transportation," he said at a March 12 news conference on Capitol Hill.

For the full story, see the March 17 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.