Sen. Richard Shelby: Encourage Private Sector Investment in Transportation
WASHINGTON -- The role played by private investors and firms in transportation should be expanded to ensure there is adequate funding for transit and infrastructure projects around the country, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said at an April 21 hearing.
“Federal policies should encourage private sector investment in transportation and transit infrastructure in order to better leverage federal investments and increase economic growth,” Shelby said during opening remarks. “By eliminating burdensome regulations we will invite more innovation in the marketplace.”
Shelby, chairman of the chamber’s Banking Committee, also called on fellow lawmakers to address the looming shortfall of the federal Highway Trust Fund — an account projected to be unable to assist states with highway projects early this summer.
The Banking panel is tasked with providing the transit portion of highway policy measures. Like Shelby, the panel’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said lawmakers should consider a variety of funding options to keep the trust fund operable. He also stressed that Congress has to move away from “an endless cycle of extensions” that keep the transportation system running.
The current funding authority for transportation programs is set to expire May 31. Meanwhile, GOP leaders who control the chambers have yet to announce how they intend to keep the highway system funded after that date.
Since 1993, for every gallon of gasoline sold in the country, 18.4 cents goes into the Highway Trust Fund. The rate for diesel fuel is 24.4 cents per gallon. However, the public’s growing dependence on mass transit and vast improvements in fuel efficiency have reduced the time drivers spend on the roadways.
By opting to not raise fuel taxes in more than two decades, Congress has been signing off on the transfer of billions of dollars from the general fund into the trust fund.
