By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday advanced a new $250 annual fee on electric cars but dropped a $20 federal yearly registration fee on all vehicles starting in 2031 to fund road repairs as part of a tax reform bill under consideration.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 36-30 to approve a proposal from Representative Sam Graves, who heads the panel. The proposal includes $12.5 billion for air traffic control reform efforts, down from $15 billion in an early draft.
The bill also includes a $100 fee on hybrids.
The highway trust fund faces a $142 billion shortfall over five years. "The system for funding our federal surface transportation is broken," Graves said.
Some Republicans and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer had sharply criticized the proposed $20 fee on all vehicles.
The Electrification Coalition, an EV advocacy group, said the $250 fee was unfair since an average gas-powered vehicle pays just $88 yearly in federal gas taxes.
Most revenue for federally funded road repairs is collected through diesel and gasoline taxes, which EV drivers do not pay.
Some states charge fees for electric vehicles to cover road repair costs. Congress for the past three decades has opted not to hike fuel taxes to pay for rising road repair costs. Some Republican senators in February proposed a $1,000 tax on EVs for road repair costs.
The bill also includes $12.5 billion in new funding through 2029 for replacing aging Federal Aviation Administration facilities including air traffic control towers, radar systems and telecommunications infrastructure, and air traffic controller hiring.
A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and at many facilities controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels.
A quarter of all FAA facilities are at least 50 years old and aging systems have repeatedly sparked delays, including major issues at Newark on Monday.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to ask Congress for tens of billions of dollars for a multi-year effort to revamp FAA air traffic control infrastructure and boost hiring.
The January 29 collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane that killed 67 people and other recent safety incidents have sparked calls for reform.