New Hampshire Senators OK With Driving Data Tax Program

Concord NH

11 August, 2021

2:46 PM

Description

CONCORD, NH — The U.S. Senate approved a new bipartisan infrastructure package on Tuesday with a price tag of around $1 trillion. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) was a "lead negotiator" while U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) was also a negotiator of the bill. The bill was heralded by many because more than a dozen Republican Senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined Democrats in supporting the bill. Shaheen said the proposal "showed that we can bridge the partisan divide to invest in our nation's future," while adding the package would "create lasting change for families across New Hampshire, whose stories inspired me during around-the-clock negotiations over the last three months." Hassan called the proposal "a game-changer for New Hampshire" since it would "help fix our roads and bridges, expand high-speed Internet access, and invest in clean water and clean energy — all while creating jobs and growing our economy." She added that it reflected "the spirit of New Hampshire — borne of hard work, compromise, and dialogue." Analysis The proposal clocked in at around 2,700 pages — something everyone can be assured that no Senator has actually read in the few days they had the proposal. But constituents were told there was money for roads, bridges, and passenger rail as well as money for Internet in rural areas as well as PFAs water money, too, so it is OK. The exact amount of dollars for New Hampshire were not known at post time. While there was relevant criticism about the fact that no Senators probably actually read the bill (they had to approve it before finding out what was in it), one proposal which was concerning is a new driving data pilot program, which could lead to "a vehicle miles-traveled tax." As noted in The Intercept, the government plans on tracking driver data during the next four years — which could lead to a requirement to install a tracking device from the federal government where drivers will be billed a per-mile fee, while also potentially still paying state and federal gasoline taxes as well as tolls. If you do not install the tracking device and pay the fee, you will not be allowed driving privileges, no matter where you drive. Can you imagine the enforcement costs of this? Dozens of people each week are summoned or even arrested around New Hampshire for not registering or inspecting their vehicles now. At first, the pilot program is voluntary. But who knows where it will lead from there. In previous press reports, Biden administration officials said a vehicle miles-traveled tax would violate the president's promise of not raising taxes on anyone who earned less than $400,000 annually and stated it would be off the table. And yet, the pilot program is right there, in the bill, approved by nearly two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. The idea of a user fee for driving has been bandied around for many decades — it was actually libertarians in the 1980s who were one of the first political entities to suggest a fee replace gas taxes, with tollbooths on every street (yes, this was an actual proposal in Massachusetts four decades ago). Civil libertarians are now concerned about the tracking — with politicians in Washington wanting both taxes, with no privacy. Both New Hampshire Senators were asked two simple questions: "What does the Senator plan on doing to protect Granite Staters from the government permanently tracking this data, which is no one's business, or implementing per-mile travel fees, on top of gasoline taxes we're already paying at the state and federal level?" The responses said — and did not say a lot. The pilot program, according to Sam Paisley, a spokesperson for Shaheen, was part of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021, which was passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously. Paisley noted both Republicans and Democrats approved of the program in May. It was not part of negotiations Shaheen led or participated in. "This is a voluntary, pilot program to test the feasibility of a road usage fee with the goal of providing data necessary to craft informed policy on how best to fund the repair and improvement of our roadways into the future," Paisley said. "Senator Shaheen will work with lawmakers to see that congressional oversight prioritizes privacy and security concerns as this pilot program is implemented." Laura Epstein, a spokesperson for Hassan, said the pilot program was voluntary for any potential participant and the senator "believes that privacy concerns should be one of the many issues evaluated as part of the pilot." Neither Shaheen nor Hassan said anything about whether or not Granite Staters will be prevented from being double-taxed. Meanwhile, Democrats are in full promotion mode about the infrastructure package while also attacking Gov. Chris Sununu, a possible 2022 Senate candidate. Sununu, who was on the radio on Monday, was critical of the bill, saying most people did not know what was in the proposal — with some items called infrastructure even if the items were not actual infrastructure. He added the nation was also staring at $28 trillion in federal debt. Got a news tip? Send it to [email protected]. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.