Arlington, Virginia 鈥 Today, 黑料不打烊 President and CEO Chris Spear said the following in response to the White House鈥檚 released infrastructure proposal:
鈥淚t is heartening that the President is bringing the issue of infrastructure modernization to the forefront, but in order to address our nation鈥檚 needs, it is essential we identify real and immediate sources of revenue that are conservative and fair like the Build America Fund.
鈥淲hile the White House鈥檚 plan kick starts this debate, it unfortunately falls short of the President鈥檚 campaign promise to go big and bold, because it lacks the required federal investment. 听A proposal that relies on fake funding schemes like highway tolls and privatizing rest areas will not generate the revenue necessary to make significant infrastructure improvements.
鈥満诹喜淮蜢萮as a solution to the funding question 鈥 the Build America Fund 鈥 which would generate $340 billion over the next ten years. 听This is the most efficient, conservative and viable approach to funding infrastructure.
鈥淭o be clear, new tolling on existing interstates is a non-starter for our industry. 听Tolls are ineffective and wasteful, with as much as 33% of revenue being wasted on administrative and overhead costs.听
鈥淲e also have grave concerns with the failure of the Administration鈥檚 budget proposal and infrastructure proposal to address the imminent collapse of the Highway Trust Fund. 听To be blunt, America is hurtling toward a highway funding cliff. 听If we continue on this trajectory, the motoring public, the American taxpayer and future generations are going to pay a very steep and unacceptable price. Any infrastructure funding proposal that does not address this situation is unacceptable.鈥
In case you missed it:
To learn more about the Build America Fund, click here.