According to the testimony of two experts who testified yesterday before the House Budget Committee, the next five years will require an investment of half a trillion dollars to meet the country's expanding needs for surface transportation infrastructure construction. This is good news for the construction industry if Congress can find a way to fund the appropriations.
Robert Atkinson, chairman of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, and Debra Miller, of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, both told the committee that they estimate investments of at least $545 billion from 2010 through 2015 will be required to meet the long neglected needs of highway and mass transit construction and repair. This is about double the amount invested in the last five year period.
This year the federal highway trust fund, which consists of fuel and road use tax revenues designated for transportation infrastructure construction, required an $8 billion augmentation from general revenues simply to pay for work which was already under contract by state and federal highway and transit agencies.
Miller and Atkinson proposed increasing the gasoline tax by ten cents per gallon, and the diesel fuel tax by 15 cents a gallon, plus as doubling of truck road use taxes, to fund the massive new investment in roads, bridges and mass transit. They also discussed using part of the revenue from the proposed carbon emission cap and trade tax, and a new tax on vehicle miles traveled, to help raise the needed funds. Of course, howls and groans opposing new fuel taxes could be heard from Congressmen on the committee, who must run for reelection every two years, when the experts started speaking about fuel tax increases.
Robert Atkinson, chairman of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, and Debra Miller, of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, both told the committee that they estimate investments of at least $545 billion from 2010 through 2015 will be required to meet the long neglected needs of highway and mass transit construction and repair. This is about double the amount invested in the last five year period.
This year the federal highway trust fund, which consists of fuel and road use tax revenues designated for transportation infrastructure construction, required an $8 billion augmentation from general revenues simply to pay for work which was already under contract by state and federal highway and transit agencies.
Miller and Atkinson proposed increasing the gasoline tax by ten cents per gallon, and the diesel fuel tax by 15 cents a gallon, plus as doubling of truck road use taxes, to fund the massive new investment in roads, bridges and mass transit. They also discussed using part of the revenue from the proposed carbon emission cap and trade tax, and a new tax on vehicle miles traveled, to help raise the needed funds. Of course, howls and groans opposing new fuel taxes could be heard from Congressmen on the committee, who must run for reelection every two years, when the experts started speaking about fuel tax increases.
