Raise the Gas Tax

IT'S TAKEN a whopping budget deficit to prod D.C. officials into considering a step they should have taken years ago: increasing the gas tax. The proposal, still in a fledging stage, should be vigorously pursued. Not only would the District get a desperately needed windfall of as much as $4 million, but, more important, higher gasoline prices would encourage energy conservation.

Last week D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) raised the notion of boosting the city's gasoline tax as the council wrestled with how to close a two-year revenue shortfall estimated at $666 million by the mayor's office and higher by others. Mr. Wells suggested a hike of 3.5 cents, which would bring the tax, now 20 cents a gallon, to the level of Maryland's. The District last raised its gas tax in 1992, which means that if one were to account for inflation, the current rate should be 30 cents.

No doubt Mr. Wells's suggestion will encounter knee-jerk pushback from those loath to promote something as politically unpopular as higher gas prices. But, as we have long argued on this page, increasing the gas tax -- both federal and local -- is the best way to change this country's bad energy habits. Paying more at the pump will make a new car buyer think twice about buying a gas guzzler; it may induce more drivers to switch to bus or transit. Both would be welcome in an area notorious for its traffic congestion as well as poor air quality.