President Obama on Wednesday called for transportation budget increases of 5.5% in 2014 and 25% in 2015, though the president was criticized by the trucking industry for not providing adequate detail on how the increases would be funded.
The president said the 25% increase in 2015 would be funded by savings that will result from winding down the two overseas wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obama also reiterated an earlier call he made for an additional, immediate $50 billion in spending to upgrade infrastructure and create jobs. Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari said that spending would be paid for by budget offsets.
American Trucking Associations said Obama “fails to provide adequate detail and direction for how the country should pay for its infrastructure needs.”
“The backbone of our economy is the asphalt, steel and concrete of our roads and bridges,” ATA President Bill Graves said in a statement. “Proposals to fund those roads should be equally concrete,” he said.
“For five years, we’ve waited for President Obama to clearly state how we should pay for these critical needs and, I’m sad to say, we continue to get lip service about the importance of roads and bridges with no real roadmap to real funding solutions,” Graves said.
“Trucking is willing to step up and pay more to ensure this country has the world-class highways it deserves, but until the president and congressional leaders advance a plan with real funding solutions, I worry about the continued deterioration of one of our nation’s most critical competitive advantages,” added Michael Card, ATA’s chairman and president of Combined Transport, Central Point, Ore.
