So he wants to raise the gas tax at a time when gas prices are at a level that is making it difficult for Americans to fill their tanks.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) on Tuesday said Congress needs to pass legislation increasing the federal gasoline tax in order to pay for increased and ongoing demands on U.S. infrastructure.

DeFazio warned on the House floor that the federal highway trust fund will fall to zero by next year, and said the government is spending billions less on infrastructure each year, which is hurting job creation. He said a recent report from the American Society of Civil Engineers shows that the U.S. is falling behind on maintaining its infrastructure compared with other countries.

"We're going to have to talk about revenues, it's the only way to solve that problem," he said. "We can get a 100 percent rate of return. It's pretty simple. We would just index the existing gas tax — which hasn't changed since 1993."

DeFazio also complains that government isn’t getting its fair share of gasoline profits, which are currently going to the companies that, you know, actually make gasoline instead of the government which, you know, makes nothing except for regulatory burdens on business and increased tax burdens upon the American people.

UPDATE: Interesting that this information would come out at the same time Rep. DeFazio declares the government is not getting enough tax money from the oil companies -- three of the top 10 corporate taxpayers are oil companies!

H/T Hot Air