WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Transportation Committee says passing a bill to pay for America’s aging roads and bridges will be a top priority next year but is ruling out a gasoline tax hike or motorist user fees as the way to do it.

Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., has previously said a vehicle-miles-traveled tax should be considered as an alternative to increasing the 18.4 cent per gallon gas tax, given the rise in fuel-efficient cars that makes taxing by the gallon rather than the mile less effective. Looking ahead to a new GOP-controlled Congress, Shuster said in an interview this month that both proposals are unworkable.

“The president has ruled out a gas tax, I don’t think there’s a will in Congress and the American people don’t want it,” Shuster said. He added a VMT tax was “never really on the table.”

In recent weeks, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have renewed calls for a gas tax increase, spurred in part by falling fuel prices.

Shuster, whose committee is working with the House Ways and Means Committee to figure out a funding solution, said a long-term highway bill may be paid by repatriating offshore corporate taxes or from oil exploration and production offshore and on federal lands — proposals that supporters of a gas tax hike contend aren’t long-term answers.

Congress has been in a deadlock since 2009 over the best way to pay for highways, opting to pass a series of short-term fixes.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who will be the new ranking member on the committee, said he was optimistic Congress can pass a bipartisan bill, citing a good working relationship with Shuster. DeFazio supports taxing oil at the wholesale level but says he’s open to other options.