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This week Congress once again failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government. One of the issues they continue to push down the road is the issue of infrastructure funding.
Most of our funding for infrastructure comes from sales tax on gasoline. As vehicles become more efficient, less gas is needed and funding for our infrastructure diminishes.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’(ASCE) most recent report card on the U.S. infrastructure scored a D+. And according to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. now ranks 16th overall in quality of infrastructure, behind other major countries like France, Spain and Japan. According to the ASCE report, an estimated $1.7 trillion in additional spending is needed by 2020 for our surface transportation to be adequately improved.
A recent report showed that there are at least 61,000 bridges which are structurally deficient and in need of serious repair or replacement. These bridges see tens of millions of drivers daily and there is no telling when the next one will fail.
Our roads, for example, require a lot of maintenance, especially after long winters. Potholes and rough roads cost drivers an estimated $324 a year on car repairs. Many cold-weather states and cities sink much of their transportation budgets into repairing these roads yearly.
Right now 42% of America’s city highways are considered highly congested. And that costs our nation's economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel each year. Maintaining our infrastructure is also very costly.
Everyone in Congress will tell you that they are very concerned about the nation's crumbling infrastructure, but no one can agree on an approach to repairing it. Short resolutions have pased
The biggest issue is how to fund it. The most commonly suggested plan would be to raise the gas tax a few cents in order to bolster federal Highway Trust Fund revenue. House Republican leaders want to change corporate tax laws that encourage U.S. companies to park foreign profits overseas and use this revenue to fully pay for highway and transit aid. The change would allow corporations to transfer money back to the U.S. at a lower tax rate.
Senator Bernie Sanders, former presidential hopeful, introduced a bill last year which would have increased infrastructure spending by $1 trillion over five years. "My legislation puts 13 million people to work repairing the backlog of infrastructure projects all across this country,” Sanders said. “These projects require equipment, supplies and services, and the hard-earned salaries from these jobs will be spent in countless restaurants, shops and other local businesses. It’s no surprise that groups across the political spectrum – from organized labor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – agree that investing in infrastructure will pay dividends for future generations.”
"Instead of sending our gas tax money to Washington, where federal bureaucrats skim some off the top to pay for their own agencies, Congress should dramatically cut the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal gas tax to just a few cents per gallon — just enough to pay for interstate connectivity and other safety concerns. States would then be free to set their own gas tax rates, aligned to their own needs as identified by their own residents, communities, and leaders."
For years, transportation experts have called for a massive investment to save a network of roads, bridges and transit systems that has fallen into disrepair. Will Congress work to solve this problem now or punt the question down the road again?
