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:
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.
“Why aren’t we as a country investing in the maintenance and preservation of our existing infrastructure?”
World air traffic will double every 12-15 years. More people will be needed to build, fly, and maintain new planes.
The aviation industry is not resting on its laurels.
Deteriorating infrastructure hurts companies' bottom lines.
155,000 jobs were created in November. The unemployment rate is 3.7%.
Forcing aviation users to pay for the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (PATH) railway is not the right approach.
As we celebrate the success of small business, let’s remove the barriers to their further growth and prosperity.
The aviation industry is not resting on its laurels.
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.
