Only months after Congress passed a six-year, $286.4 billion highway bill including the now famous “bridge to nowhere,” the US Chamber of Commerce reports that the federal Highway Trust Fund is running out of money and needs new revenue sources.

Revisiting the highway bill might mean losing some of the billions of dollars of pork projects that were in the bill, so Congress is considering ways to raise additional revenues. One proposal would charge a vehicle fee on owners of hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles, arguing that drivers should bear their fair share to fill potholes and fix bridges, regardless of how much or what kind of fuel they use.

In the face of rising fuel prices and uncertain oil supplies, the natural reaction to this proposal would be; “are you nuts?” But given the last five years, there seems to be no idea so ludicrous that it won’t be considered.