U.S. Chamber Continues Push to Strengthen America's Transportation Infrastructure

Stresses Need to Boost Public Investment & Public/Private Partnership

IRVING, TEXAS—Today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce continued its push to keep the issue of America's failing transportation infrastructure in the public debate as the Chamber's Of Counsel, Carol Hallett, took part in the 11th Annual Transportation Summit. It was at this conference a year ago that the U.S. Chamber unveiled the Let's Rebuild America initiative to raise the visibility of the nation's infrastructure crisis and to highlight the urgent need for increased investment.

"The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission estimates that the U.S. must invest $225 billion per year from all sources over the next 50 years to maintain and adequately enhance just our surface transportation system," added Hallett. "There is something terribly wrong with the system when hundreds of millions of dollars are earmarked for the construction of a bridge to nowhere in Alaska while critical projects in major metropolitan areas are neglected."

Hallett also stressed at today's transportation summit the need to boost investment in transportation to create more jobs, reduce congestion, increase competitiveness and enhance mobility. She also discussed the Chamber's Let's Rebuild America program, a multimillion –dollar initiative to develop a consensus and build support for commonsense solutions to the infrastructure crisis.

"The state of America's transportation infrastructure is at the top of the U.S. Chamber's policy agenda," added Hallett. "We will continue to be on the front lines of this debate stressing that tough decisions about infrastructure investment must be made now, not another five or ten years down the road."

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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