Congressman Proposes 1% Freight Fee to Fund Infrastructure

A Democratic congressman from Washington introduced a bill that would create federal grants to fund freight infrastructure, and fund the grants through a dedicated 1% fee on shipping.

The Freight Infrastructure Reinvestment Act of 2014, written by Rep. Adam Smith, was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where it has three co-sponsors, all Democrats.

Smith said in a Jan. 10 statement that his proposal “would establish the National Freight Mobility Infrastructure Improvement Program through the U.S. Department of Transportation that would provide competitive grants to states and designated entities to improve the efficiency and capacity of freight networks.”

The bill says the final recipient of the freight will pay the 1% fee to the company that delivers the shipment. The transporter would then forward the funding to the Treasury Department.

The House transportation committee begins hearings for a new surface transportation funding bill Jan. 14.