Top Construction Official Says Bipartisan Proposal Reflects the Kind of "Courage" Needed to Tackle Funding Challenges That Have Already Forced Many States to Delay or Cancel Highway Repair Projects This Summer
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the release of a highway funding and tax reduction proposal released today by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.):
"This proposal provides the kind of long-term funding solutions that virtually every independent, bipartisan commission has said are needed to repair and upgrade our aging transportation network. As important, by finding the courage to cross aisles and tackle difficult funding questions, the Senators are demonstrating the legislative process at its finest.
"This new proposal is welcome news, considering that Washington's prior inability to address the long-term funding needs of our aging highway and transit network has not only made it increasingly difficult for state officials to maintain and expand their existing transportation systems, it has also made it difficult for them to meet debt payments. Moreover, the threat that the highway trust fund will not have enough money to meet our current obligations starting later this summer has already forced transportation officials to delay needed repairs and shelve long-planned expansion projects. These delays have certainly undermined the recovery from an economic downturn that cost over two million construction workers their jobs.
"If we want to modernize our aging highway network, expand transit and make our bridges safer, we need to find a way to pay for it. The Senators' proposal does just that in a way that is as fiscally responsible as it is desperately needed."