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NTEU supports the efforts of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in developing legislation that would increase the maximum mileage reimbursement rate allowed as a tax deduction by the Internal Revenue Service. This common sense legislative proposal, which would run through Dec. 31, 2006, would increase the mileage deduction rate used for business, medical, moving and charity purposes and is a response to rising fuel costs as well as the outpouring of charitable giving due to Hurricane Katrina. The bill would also provide some relief to all those workers—including federal employees—who use their vehicles in the course of their work. As NTEU said in a letter to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson earlier this week, the sharply-higher price of gas is placing an especially heavy burden on those who must travel in their own vehicles to perform their duties. The Schumer proposal would instruct the General Services Administration (GSA) to raise its reimbursement rate to match the new IRS rate—it currently is at the IRS maximum of 40.5 cents a miles—for the same period. As Sen. Schumer correctly points out, GSA normally increases its allowable rate to match the IRS maximum, but it is not obligated by law to do so. The Schumer provision would eliminate unnecessary uncertainty on the part of the federal workforce about this important financial aspect of their day-to-day work lives.