Congestion Pricing Programs Get Help From U.S. Federal Budget

"That Mr. Bush has now jumped on the Al Gore bandwagon of wanting to impose costs on individuals for their contributions to global warming shows that this administration might be open to many Kyoto-like measures in areas where fossil fuel use needs to be curtailed."

"Democrats should grab this initiative in the president's proposed 2008 budget to help promote a measure of bipartisanship around global warming. And both parties would gain by supporting efforts already underway in a few US cities to try to use traffic fees to influence people's driving habits and choice of residences."

"Elected leaders also need to revisit the need for higher taxes on gasoline, urban parking, and other areas where the use of gas-guzzling vehicles needs to be curbed. Bush has proposed new ways to force better fuel-efficiency from carmakers. The public may be ready to accept such higher costs as they experience more erratic climate change and hear of projected temperature rises in the coming decades."