President Obama called for Congress to pass a “bipartisan infrastructure plan” in his State of the Union address but stopped short of calling for an increase in the federal gas tax to help pay for it, reported The Hill.
“21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure — modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet. Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this,” he said, criticizing Republicans for focusing more on approving the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
“So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline," Obama continued. "Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come.”
According to The Hill, transportation advocates have pushed for an increase in the 18.4 cent-per-gallon tax to help pay for infrastructure projects, and the idea has picked up some steam on Capitol Hill, as gas prices have declined sharply in recent months.
Obama stuck to his previous proposals of closing corporate tax loopholes to pay for transportation projects, however.
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President & CEO Pete Ruane released the following statement regarding the State of the Union address:
“Since the beginning of the year, Republican and Democratic congressional leaders in the House and Senate have frequently referred to a highway bill as one of their 2015 priorities," he says. "President Obama made similar statements in his State of the Union speech. Taken together, it leads us to wonder, ‘What are you waiting for?’
“If the new Congress is serious about proving to the American people it can govern and if the president wants to accomplish something that has been on his agenda for years, then new investments in surface transportation are an area ripe for bipartisan consensus and action," he continues.
“However, policy legacies won’t be earned with more short-term gimmicks and temporary patches of the Highway Trust Fund," Ruane says. "It will require Congress and the President to enact a long-term revenue stream to ensure state governments have the reliable federal partner they need to make overdue improvements to America’s roads, bridges and transit systems.”
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