THE FUEL-TAX GAME

The question about the federal fuel tax -- should it be cut by the 4.3 cents a gallon it was increased in 1993? -- is, in all likelihood, a dead issue at this point. It was, after all, the clout of Sen. Bob Dole that brought the idea to the forefront in the first place. Now that he is leaving the Senate to campaign full-time for the presidency, it is highly unlikely even Dole will press for a vote, particularly if the rollback appears headed for defeat.

The whole idea of a gas-tax repeal was based on a wobbly foundation. It was, depending on who you talk to, a political maneuver to attract attention to the Republicans, an attempt to divert attention from proposals to raise the minimum wage or an effort to cut a tax nobody wanted in the first place.

It was, after all, President Clinton who campaigned for president in 1992 by vowing never to raise the federal fuel tax. He called such a move "backbreaking" in his campaign speeches. Remember how Clinton worked so hard to convince voters that he wouldn't be a tax-and-spend president?

But a full year hadn't passed after Clinton took office before he relented and accepted the 4.3-cent increase as part of a deficit-reducing package. This was part of the flawed rationale for increasing the gas tax. The revenue generated by the increase would be used for deficit-reduction hocus-pocus instead of building highways or maintaining bridges.

When Dole first suggested rolling back the increase, there appeared to be fairly widespread support, both in Congress and around the country. But as part of the political give and take, the idea soon took on undesirable baggage. For example, the president said he would go along with the rollback on two conditions: if it was temporary and if it was tied to a minimum-wage vote. Besides, no one had very many suggestions for replacing the lost revenue. And questions were raised about how to guarantee that the rollback would actually benefit fuel consumers.

With Dole's decision to leave the Senate, all of the push to cut the gas tax could quickly dissipate. And although it is unlikely to happen during an election year, at some point Congress is likely to look at further increases in the U.S. tax on fuel, which is the lowest of any industrialized nation.