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There. others have suggestions as well. we appreciate the fact that we've got solutions that are being put forward. i don't think we take anything off the table at this point. i think it's important to recognize we have a problem, an issue we need a solution for. and we need to look at all the possible, you know, ways out there in which we can address the challenge and address the problem. that's one proposal that's out there. bob corker has been taking a strong stand on that issue. >> one final question -- >> chris if i could. >> sure. >> i just want to point out that yes, we have proposed ra...

>> so how did republicans who had signed grover norquist's pledge never to raise taxes in any form get away with doing this? well, it was only one way. grover norquist helped them get away with it. he let them off on a technicality. grover said at the time, by far the worst element of the bipartisan budget act of 2013 as the per ticket airline fee hike that goes to the transportation security agency, the bill, however, structures the tsa ticket fee not as a tax but as an offsetting receipt to pay for tsa services. in so doing, this fee straddles the line between a tax increase and a user fee w...

Cbo's scoring methodology is gimmicky and does not hold up to strict scrutiny as a serious policy initiative. and i thought grover was all about strict. but even though grover didn't like it, he didn't fight it. he did not call it a tax even though it is. he went along with republicans pretending it's a user fee. that is a fee collected on each airplane ticket simply to cover the costs of running the tsa budget and running those airlines with the tsa security in effect. the trouble with that and grover didn't mention this. the trouble with that is the money collected on these tickets doesn't g...

It took him a while to get into it. we have to keep him up there. be a builder. be robert moses. do something. >> absolutely. the chamber of commerce and the aflcio that could barely agree today is tuesday agreed to raise the gas tax. it was last increased 21 years ago. does anybody think they could have gone 21 yeas without a raise in income or supplements? you couldn't do it. the gas tax is now worth 11 centses in 1993 dollars. it's going down, down, down. it's a user fee. the best way to pay for transportation. having said that, chris, you, michael and i could in the next 24 hours find 300 ...

Or there's something in the senate that has to do with a fund for coal miners who are owed payments. they want to use this for that. republicans previously proposed to use this to repeal the medical device task. >> the underlying thing is we haven't raised the gas tax. that strikes me as -- there are arguments against the gas tax and arguments on distributional equity in terms of who gets hit by a gas tax. that, to me, is the problem. >> right. so given we haven't raised the gas tax in 21 years, it's fallen by 31% in real terms. cars have gotten more fuel efficient. gas tax is like a user fee....