Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-28
Gore Predicts
Big Roads Bill
Will Be Passed
Senate Will Hold
Hearing on Taxes
In House Measure
BY ]. A. O'LEARY

senator Gore, DemOcraC OF
Tennessee. predicted today this
Congress will pass a vigorous"
highway program somewhere
between the S5l.5 billion voted
by the House yesterday and the
$1S billion already approved by
the Senate.
Senator Gore is chairman of
the Public Roads subcommittee
which handled the Senate bill.
The two houses are not as far
apart as the totals indicate. be-
cause the House figure is spread
over Is years. while the Senate
money would cover only five
years.
To Senate Committee
The next step will be for the
Senate Finance Committee to
hold brief hearings on motor
vehicle taxes prescribed in the
House bill as a device to put the
program on a partial "pay-as-
you-ride" basis. No taxes were
in the Senate version last year,
because the Senate cannot orig
mate revenue measures. The
House bill would raise an addi-
tional SLAB billion over the next
16 years, as follows:
Increasing the Federal gas tax
from ? to 3 cents gallon
Raising the tax on tires from
5 to 8 cents per pound.
Increasing the manufacturers
excise sales tax on trucks, buses
and trailers from 8 to 10 per cent.
Imposing a new tax of 81 so per
1000 pounds of taxable gross
weight on trucks and buses
weighing over $4,000 pounds.
Local transit buses are exempt.
Passed by House 1888 to 10
The big highway measure
sailed through the House 1888 to
10, after organized labor won its
fight to retain the requirement
that the Labor Department fix
prevailing wage rates for workers
building the interstate highway
system, under the Davis
Law.
The Senate knocked this
Bacon-DaviS clause out of its
bill last year, but may vote on the
question again when the House
bill is taken up.
Representative Dondero. Re-
publican of Michigan. was beaten,
1872 to n. on a proposed States
rights substitute. which would
have allowed highway officials
in each State to fix wage rates.
The only change the House
made in the bill yesterday was
to adopt a States rights rule
for determining whether public
utilities should be reimbursed
for relocating their poles and
other facilities along the new
highways.
OF the S5l.5 billion total in
the House bill. $37 billion would
De the Federal share and the
rest State money. The bill
specifies about $25 billion for
completion of 10000 miles of
the interstate system, stretching
from coast to coast.
S22.2 Million for ID. C.
The highway bill would allo-
cate Federal funds of S222 mil
lion to the District of Columbia
in the next two fiscal years.
The District would be called
on to match dollar for dollar the
Federal money allocated out of
this amount for three catcgorles
of roads here-known as pri-
mary. secondary and urban. For
this purpose the bill carries S4.5
million. For the rest of the Dis
tricts ALLEGATION. however. $l7.7
million for the interstate sys-
tenn in the District. the District
would have to put only 10 per
cent of that amount.
The bill carries an ALLEGATION
for Maryland of 1892 million for
the next two fiscal years and for
Virginia S8l6 million.
Senator Gore indicated that
one of the major differences be-
tween the two Houses in con-
ference will be over how to APP
portion the Federal share of the
money to be spent on the inter-
state system. He made it clear
he does not go along with the
House plan of an apportionment
based on the amount each State
needs to complete its segment of
the system. The Senate bill adj
hered to the formula used in the
past. based on population and
mileage in each State.