Sen. Bernie Sanders: Fund Infrastructure Through Tax Reform
WASHINGTON — Revenue that would come from an overhaul of the country’s tax system should go toward rehabilitating the country’s aging infrastructure, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said at a high-profile chat at the Brookings Institution on Feb. 9.
“We need a major jobs program to put millions of Americans back to work. The fastest way to do that is to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure,” Sanders said. He later added: “We are losing about $100 billion every single year because corporations and wealthy people are stashing their money in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere. Real tax reform can generate a significant sum of money, which should be used for infrastructure and education.”
VIDEO: Sanders on how infrastructure jobs can boost economy
CAPITOL AGENDA: This week in trucking on Capitol Hill
Last month, Sanders, who is the ranking member on the Budget Committee and a 2016 presidential aspirant, introduced legislation with Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the ranking member on the Appropriations panel, that would invest about $1 trillion over five years for highway infrastructure critical to the trucking and construction industries.
The American Society of Civil Engineers, which estimates those investment needs are in the trillions of dollars and in 2013 gave the country's infrastructure a D+ grade, supports Sanders’ effort. But on Capitol Hill, the measure lacks backing from GOP leaders, and it is unclear when tax policy writers will debate highway funding options this year. A federal highway account that supports projects nationwide is projected to run out of funds at the end of May.
