Jobs Agenda: Infrastructure

Update: SAFETEA-LU Reauthorization

The federal highway and transit programs legislation – the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) – expired on September 30, 2009 and has been operating on a series of short-term extensions since. With the passage of the HIRE Act, current law was extended through December 31, 2010. As part of legislation, $19.6 billion in general funds were transferred to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to provide solvency through early to mid 2011. While this gives states and contracts funding certainty through the end of the calendar year, Congress must make a multi-year reauthorization bill a priority...read more.

• TAKE ACTION: Tell your members of Congress we need a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill
• Read the Chamber's policy statement on SAFETEA-LU reauthorization

Priorities

The U.S. Chamber believes that without proper investment and attention to our infrastructure systems, the nation’s economic stability, potential for job growth, and global competitiveness are at risk.

The Facts

• Transportation: One-third of major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, 25% of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and the air traffic control system faces a multiyear overhaul.
• Energy: Electricity demand has increased 25% since 1990; construction of transmission facilities has decreased 30%.
• Telecommunications: Making broadband available everywhere in America will take up to $350 billion.
• Water: 1.7 trillion gallons are lost annually via water distribution systems, costing $2.6 billion annually.

The U.S. Chamber’s Plan for Modernizing American Infrastructure

• Spur Private Investment—To unlock pent-up private sector capital investments in infrastructure, Congress and the administration should embark on a commonsense plan to remove legal, regulatory, and legislative impediments while protecting public health and safety and improving our environment.
• Invest in the Ailing Transportation Infrastructure
  • Reauthorize the federal highway and transit programs (SAFETEA-LU), with increased user fee-based funding and a new federal role that focuses on national interests, accountability, and project delivery reforms.
  • Reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration programs to transform our nation’s air traffic control system and expand airports and runways.
  • Improve congested ports and aging inland waterways by reauthorizing the Water Resources Development Act.
• Modernize and Protect Energy Infrastructure
  • Streamline regulatory and licensing processes to allow industry to make investments with surety.
  • Support additional power transmission capacity across state lines by establishing federal siting authority.
  • Make timely decisions on energy projects to avoid costly delays.
  • Provide incentives and loan guarantees to encourage deployment and use of all energy technologies.
• Update Telecommunications Infrastructure—America needs federal policies that spur private sector investment, foster public-private partnerships, recognize the competitive nature of today’s telecommunications market, and avoid overregulation.
• Modernize Water Infrastructure—The pipes that supply water to families and businesses are reaching the end of their life span. Congress should lift the cap on private activity bonds for water infrastructure, strengthen the State Revolving System, and leverage local and private investment to improve water quality and delivery.