NASHVILLE — U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais today questioned whether his GOP primary rival, state Sen Jim Tracy, would support U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s proposed plan to raise the gas tax by tying it to inflation.
He said that in the Tennessee General Assembly Tracy introduced similar legislation that would increase Tennessee’s gasoline tax by also basing it on the CPI.
“If state Sen. Tracy wants to represent Tennesseans in Congress, voters deserve to know how he would vote on the recent Senate proposal to raise gas taxes – especially one that mirrors legislation he championed in the General Assembly,” DesJarlais said in a statement.
He said “it stands to reason that if Jim Tracy introduced legislation raising gas taxes in Tennessee, he would do the same if elected to Congress.”
Corker has proposed a 12-cent increase in federal gas and diesel taxes over the next two years in order to forestall the federal Highway Trust Fund from going bust in late August.