On Nov. 17, 2017, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) sent separate letters to House and Senate leaders, emphasizing the association’s priority to use tax reform “to address the nation’s transportation investment crisis,” but instead have proposed bills that not only miss the opportunity but would make it “nearly impossible” to later fund a major infrastructure package, the AASHTO Journal reported.
“The most significant tax reform effort in 31 years,” AASHTO said, “is the prime opportunity to address the looming solvency crisis facing the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which provides much-needed transportation investments across the country.”
AASHTO told the AASHTO Journal, “Unless Congress shores up the trust fund before its current five-year authorization law expires in 2020, federal highway spending would shrink by 40 percent in 2021 while new HTF transit funding would dry up completely for three years.”
The AASHTO Journal reported administration and congressional officials have said they plan to introduce an infrastructure plan after they pass tax reform, and they are waiting to say how they would pay for it.
AASHTO is absolutely correct regarding this perspective. The new administration and Congress have failed the American public by not finding a path to advance some type of Infrastructure funding. The President, Congress Representatives and US Senators always talk about economic opportunity and upward mobility as one of their highest priorities but have proven ineffective every time they have a golden opportunity to make a difference in peoples’ lives. They always seem to come back to taxes and trickle down principles that have never worked instead of focusing on the development of an investment program to grow the economy by creating sustainable jobs that could then serve as the foundation of the middle class. AASHTO, APTA, ARTBA, ASCE, NSPE and the Chamber of Commerce need to join forces and make an impact to ensure our voices are heard loud and clear.