June 18, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 102 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H4767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MODERNIZE THE TRUCK FLEET WEEK

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight this week as the 
first-ever Modernize the Truck Fleet Week.
  Currently, the average age of heavy-duty trucks on the road is nearly 
10 years old. That is a decade's worth of technology and improvements 
that have effectively been sidelined.
  One big reason for this is the 12 percent Federal excise tax, known 
as the FET, on the sale of most heavy-duty new trucks.
  This tax was implemented over 100 years ago as a means of paying for 
World War I and is now the highest percentage tax Congress imposes on 
any product.
  It can tack on an additional $20,000 to the price of a new truck, 
which most truck owners simply cannot afford.
  This severely outdated tax discourages the purchase of newer, safer, 
more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly trucks.
  It is time to get rid of this tax. That is why I have introduced H.R. 
2381, the Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act, which repeals the FET.
  The FET maybe made sense when it was implemented 100 years ago, but, 
just like the trucks that were designed in 1917, it is no longer viable 
in the modern world.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.

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