Proposed Transportation Plan Falls Short of Infrastructure Needs, ATA Says

The Obama administration’s budget outline for the Department of Transportation falls short of effectively dealing with the transportation needs of the nation’s consumers and shippers, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves said Tuesday.

“While very substantial increases in funding are proposed for high-speed passenger rail, transit, an infrastructure bank, and a ‘livability’ initiative, the proposal gives short shrift to our nation’s highways, which Americans overwhelmingly rely on for their daily transportation needs and goods movement,” he said in a statement.

While the plan proposes large increases in surface transportation funding, it has yet to solve the mystery of how to pay for to “rebuild and expand our network of highways and bridges,” Graves said.

ATA continues to support an increase in the federal taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel to finance needed road and bridge projects, “even though we have been told a fuel tax increase is off the table — because our members understand that roads aren’t free and they’re not cheap,” he added.