Transportation For America » Transportation for America Urges Congress to Maintain Commitment to Long-Term Reform, Support “Fix-It-First”

Transportation for America Urges Congress to Maintain Commitment to Long-Term Reform, Support “Fix-It-First”

December 2, 2009
By Transportation for America

On the eve of the White House jobs summit, James L. Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit today sent President Obama a letter arguing for increased transportation funding.

The two called for funding “ready-to-go” projects on the order of $48 billion for highways and $15 billion for public transportation. In an effort to jump start transportation jobs, the two chairmen and Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey are also reported to be discussing a two-year continuation of the current transportation program, possibly financed by the general fund or other non-motor fuel source, to pay for these 9,500 projects.

In response to these developments, James Corless, director of Transportation for America, issued the following statement:

We applaud the chairmen for pointing out that the rehabilitation of our over-taxed highway and transit systems is as imperative as it is effective at putting people to work on a timely basis. Among infrastructure-related investments, such ‘state-of-good-repair’ projects will create more jobs, faster than other investments. As we have argued since before the first stimulus, it makes perfect sense to restore our existing infrastructure as we prepare to lay the groundwork for a more transformational vision.

However, we are deeply concerned that a two-year continuation will once again provide an excuse for some members of Congress to defer this country’s desperate need to create a new, long-term plan for investing in the infrastructure we need to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving, global economy. As we noted in a letter to Congressional leaders this week:

Any short-term jobs package for transportation should be limited to no more than one year, providing a strong boost to the American economy in 2010, while making sure this Congress finishes its work on a longer-term transformational transportation authorization bill that can bring our nation’s transportation policy and programs into the 21st Century.

With Congress mulling a potential “jobs bill,” in the coming weeks and months, Transportation for America also sent this letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Click to read it in full.