Chamber Hosts Infrastructure Event Jan. 18
Strategies for modernizing the country’s transportation network will dominate panel discussions at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Jan. 18.
At their Washington, D.C. headquarters, chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue is scheduled to detail recommendations for policymakers tasked with assessing funding priorities for infrastructure projects.
Participants at the event include Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, John Schroer, president of the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials, Mark Stodola, mayor of Little Rock, Ark., and president of the National League of Cities, and Kristina Swallow, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Last year, officials with the chamber called on Congress to increase the federal fuel tax. Most infrastructure stakeholders argue the quickest way to add funds into the transportation system through the Highway Trust Fund would be by increasing federal fuel taxes. Congress, meanwhile, has not taken up the fuel tax question since 1993. The trust fund relies on a 24.4 cents per gallon diesel tax and 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax.
In recent years, more than two dozen states have raised taxes on gas and diesel fuels to fund massive road repairs.
