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WASHINGTON — The expiration this fall of the country’s central highway policy law means that its reauthorization must be urgently addressed by Congress, Ed Mortimer, transportation director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told a Senate committee Feb. 25.

With the U.S. House of Representatives readying consideration of a comprehensive highway bill as early as the week of Jan. 27, Bill Shuster, formerly the leader of that chamber’s transportation panel, argued that an increase in the federal fuel tax is an ideal approach for Congress to consider as a means of funding for the measure.

Republican leaders in Michigan’s Senate and House of Representatives are prepared to proceed with a budget, albeit one that doesn’t include a deal to secure funding for the state’s crumbling roads.

Responding to whether the federal fuel tax should be raised to help fund the country’s corridors, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao acknowledged the funding approach garnered interest during negotiations of a comprehensive infrastructure bill.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a member of the tax policy-writing Ways and Means panel, recently unveiled legislation that would increase federal fuel taxes.

The Trump administration hasn’t ruled out increasing the gas tax to help finance a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, but the idea has little support among officials who are wary of a politically risky move heading into the 2020 election.

The Canadian government has begun implementation of a federal carbon tax program that will extend the increase in the cost of diesel fuel for all truckers, including those from the United States, doing business in all 10 Canadian provinces.

As negotiations over Michigan’s annual budget pick up the pace, fissures are developing between the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the perennial problem of road funding.

To those members of Congress who support raising the federal fuel tax, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants them to know they have its support. Here's your Capitol Agenda look ahead at the week for trucking on Capitol Hill.

Republican lawmakers who backed the 10-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase know that various irate constituents might be waiting at home to give them an earful on their spring break next week. But the coastal Alabama contingent will be able to point to a very tangible benefit from their supportive votes: a deepening and widening of the Mobile ship channel.