The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) calls the "gas tax holiday" an unproductive idea. The following are some reasons why from AEM President Dennis Slater.

• Eliminating the federal gas tax would further delay badly needed road and bridge repairs and improvements. An estimated $9 billion dollars would be lost ($7 billion for highway improvements and $2 billion for transit).
• Removing the federal user fee, even temporarily, will have a ripple effect on state and local governments, as they match federal spending to make local surface transportation improvements.
• The proposal would also have a ripple effect on employment. It is estimated that more than 310,000 American jobs related to federal highway/transit investments would be at risk.
• Federal user fees have not been raised since 1993, and therefore have not been a factor in the increase in fuel prices.
• If the "gas tax holiday" was enacted, drivers would spend even more of their summer holiday stuck in congested traffic.

AEM is the Milwaukee-based international organization representing off-road equipment manufacturing (agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility).