‘Stars Really Are Aligning’ on Infrastructure Funding, AASHTO Official Says
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Washington’s legislative landscape is fertile for advancing a long-term infrastructure funding package this year, a senior official with the group representing state transportation directors said March 29.
“Infrastructure really is part of one of the top three items right now, and that is extremely rare,” said Joung Lee, policy director at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
“The stars really are aligning. Hopefully that will lead to some sort of a meaningful outcome rather than, ‘they talked a lot’ and setting high expectations but not being able to meet that,” Lee added during his presentation to trucking executives at the Safety Management Council and Transportation Security Council policy conference.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer indicated this week the administration intends to proceed with tax reform and infrastructure funding measures to rebound from its health care reform flop. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior transportation authorizer on the Commerce Committee, sounded enthusiastic about the approach.
“Combining these objectives makes sense, because tax reform could generate new revenues from a deemed repatriation as we move to a territorial international tax system,” Fischer said in a statement March 28.
In February, President Trump asked Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure bill backed by public and private funds.
