A study released by the American Public Transportation System says that if Congress fails to reauthorize the highway bill by May 31, the cost to the U.S. economy will be $ 227 Billion over the next six years. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says Congress needs to provide a long term fix rather than in a piecemeal fashion.

Steenhoek also says that rather than increasing the gas tax to provide money for the highway trust fund, his group would like to see Congress look at indexing the fuel tax to inflation.

Steenhoek says it’s not sustainable to fund the highway trust fund with increases to the gas tax as drivers are not driving as much and are using vehicles that are more fuel efficient.