America has always been a nation on the move. But an aging and crumbling transportation system is not only slowing Americans down, it’s reducing productivity, undermining our ability to move products across the country and around the world, and increasing congestion and air pollution.
Our transportation system is a tremendous national asset we’ve built up over generations. It has fueled economic growth, enhanced our competitiveness, and created a lot of good jobs. If well-maintained, it can continue to deliver outstanding benefits to all Americans.
America’s transportation system is badly in need of investment. But how do we pay for it?
The simplest, most effective short-term solution is to increase the gas tax, which hasn’t been raised since 1993, even as people drive less and cars become more fuel efficient. And what better time for a small, phased-in increase then when gas prices are tumbling at the pump? It’s a good investment for America, its citizens, and its businesses.
But Americans have every right to insist that any increase comes with guarantees that the money will be spent for its intended purposes, spent wisely on genuine priority projects, and will result in an improvement to our quality of life.
Taxpayers shouldn’t have to bear the entire burden—we need to remove barriers that prevent us from leveraging up to $250 billion in private capital for transportation projects.
Adequate funding is only one of the Chamber’s transportation priorities. We also support:
Automated Driving Systems (ADS) and ADS-equipped vehicles, colloquially known as autonomous vehicles, have the vast potential to increase road safety, enhance mobility for the elderly and people with disabilities, and improve transportation efficiency across the nation.
This joint letter was sent in conjunction with the National League of Cities (NLC) to Senators Richard Burr, Cory Gardner, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Kyrsten Sinema, as well as the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, supporting the "Moving and Fostering Innovation to Revolutionize Smarter Transportation (FIRST) Act."
This letter was sent to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, as well as Sen. Kevin Cramer, supporting S. 1211, the "Addressing Underdeveloped and Tribally Operated Streets (AUTOS) Act."
This letter was sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, supporting the nomination of Stephen Dickson for Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
This Coalition Letter was sent to the Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio and Ranking Member Sam Graves, on the Federal Aviation Administration’s planned rulemaking on “Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems." The letter was separately sent to Office of Management and Budget, and the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.
Every wasted hour in traffic means delayed deliveries to customers or money that could be invested in creating jobs.
We talk to a former deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for her insights.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today in response to the White House meeting with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer on infrastructure legislation.
In order to maintain the momentum generated during 2018, the Beyond Preclearance Coalition, in partnership with the US and Canadian Chambers of Commerce, will host a Transportation Border Summit on 25 April 2019 in Washington DC.
“Why aren’t we as a country investing in the maintenance and preservation of our existing infrastructure?”
From shipping to staffing, the Chamber and its partners have the tools to save your business money and the solutions to help you run it more efficiently. Join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today to start saving.
Weekly insights and analysis from the intersection of government and business.
