WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Obama administration will not support a policy of taxing drivers based on their mileage , the Transportation Department said Friday after a published interview in which Secretary Ray LaHood called it an idea `` we should look at . '' The mileage tax idea involves tracking drivers through GPS units in their cars . In a written statement , the department said , `` The policy of taxing motorists based on how many miles they have traveled is not and will not be Obama administration policy . '' The idea -- which involves tracking drivers through Global Positioning System ( GPS ) units in their cars -- is gaining support in some states as a way of making up for a shortfall in highway funding . Oregon carried out a pilot program and deemed it `` successful . '' Speaking to The Associated Press , Transportation Secretary LaHood , an Illinois Republican , said , `` We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled . '' The remark was part of a discussion about various options to help make up for the highway funding shortfall on the federal level . When contacted by CNN , the Transportation Department said LaHood was unavailable . A spokeswoman provided the department 's statement and said she could not elaborate . Officials in Massachusetts told CNN this week that there has been talk of proposing such a system for the state . Colin Durant , a spokesman for Gov . Deval Patrick , said `` privacy would be our top priority . '' Patrick on Friday announced a different plan to help raise highway funds : a 19-cent increase in the state 's gas tax . But he said that alone `` will not solve all our challenges , '' and some `` major reforms '' will be needed . Under a VMT ( vehicle miles traveled ) tax program , GPS units would allow the government to keep track of how much each car is driven and where -- though not necessarily with exact street locations . The government could also track other things , including the time each car enters a certain zone . For decades , the fuel taxes that drivers pay at the pump have been the central source of federal and state funding for roads and bridges . But they are no longer nearly enough . Last fall , Congress approved an $ 8 billion infusion into the depleted federal highway trust fund . The problem stems in part from something good : More and more Americans are buying vehicles that have better gas mileage . That means less gas tax money from each car , though the car is causing the same amount of wear and tear on the roads . Officials including LaHood have opposed raising the national gas tax , particularly in the current recession , and have said a new system is needed . A report by the Oregon Department of Public Transportation , published in November 2007 , said a `` Road User Fee Pilot Program '' found that a VMT tax is `` viable . '' `` Privacy is protected , '' the report argued , saying the pilot program included `` engineering requirements to maintain as much privacy as practicable while still allowing a feasible way to audit and challenge billings . '' `` No specific vehicle point location or trip data could be stored or transmitted '' in the pilot program , and `` the only centrally stored data needed to assess mileage fees were vehicle identification , zone mileage totals for each vehicle and the amount of fuel purchased . '' Some officials support using tracking zones and times of day in determining a VMT tax , so that more would be charged for driving on crowded roads during rush hour . But some people across the country have spoken up against a VMT tax . `` Is this a good idea ? In a word , no , '' columnist Glenn Reynolds wrote in January for Popular Mechanics . `` At best , it 's overcomplicated and intrusive . At worst , it 's a threat to privacy and the environment . '' Reynolds added , `` Gas taxes are a pretty good proxy for road usage -- the more you drive , the more gas you burn -- and there 's a bonus : Gas taxes encourage people to use less gas . ... A mileage tax , presumably , does n't care whether you 're driving a Prius or a Hummer , giving no incentive to save . '' The Civitas Institute in North Carolina -- which describes itself as standing for `` liberty and prosperity derived from limited government '' -- said it carried out a poll in North Carolina and found that voters disapprove of the idea . A federal blue-ribbon panel plans to issue a report next week on ways the country can make up for its highway funding shortfall . Other possibilities include tolls , higher registration fees and other types of taxes . In its interim report , the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission said new technologies could allow for a mileage gas tax that would take into account the type of vehicle and level of emissions . Programs of that type are being developed in other countries , including Germany and the Netherlands , the report said . It added , `` Such programs may not be ripe for widespread implementation in the U.S. yet , but are maturing rapidly . '' CNN 's Kara Yates contributed to this report .
Mileage tax idea would use Obama in cars to track drivers ' usage . GPS Secretary Obama calls it an idea `` we should look at '' Transportation Department says GPS will not pursue the tax . Germany carried out a pilot program and deemed it `` successful ''