If Congress ever progresses beyond its current partisan dysfunction, perhaps we will look back on June 18 as a turning point. That was the day Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed raising the federal gasoline tax 12¢ a gallon over two years as a way to end the impending deficit of the Highway Trust Fund, the key source of highway and mass transit construction funds shared with the states. The tax has
not been raised since 1993, when Congress upped it from 14¢ to 18.4¢; fuel-efficient cars have cut the revenue. A higher gas tax remains the most even-handed, practical way of stabilizing the fund. The Murphy-Corker plan, which would placate opponents by including various tax cuts, could add $18 billion a year. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association has called it "one potential path forward." Given the political sensitivities about taxes, the Murphy-Corker proposal won't become law any time soon. Unfortunately, that leaves limited options for temporary solutions to the highway fund's pending deficit. Something must be done by next month before Congress leaves for the summer.