Upgrading the U.S. transportation infrastructure, and paying for it, are in the political spotlight as President Obama and a divided Congress continue to squabble over the best ways to grow the American economy.
“If you want to create jobs right now, but also jobs that will have impacts for years, here’s the way to do it,” Obama said Thursday, touring a port facility in Jacksonville, Fla. “We know strong infrastructure is a key ingredient to a thriving economy. That’s how the United States became the best place in the world to do business. Unfortunately, over the past two years, too many folks in Washington have been cutting these investments. The world can’t wait for Congress to get its act together.”
The speech was part of Obama’s recently launched campaign-like tour, designed to rally popular support for a renewed focus on the economy.
Republicans criticized the president’s message for being overly broad in its goals and lacking a detailed, fiscally feasible plan.
House Speaker John Boehner called Thursday’s speech “all sizzle and no steak—assuming there’s any sizzle left after you’ve reheated this thing so many times.”
But Congress, based on several hearings last week, also finds itself struggling to develop transportation funding solutions.
On the House side, the Transportation Committee on July 23 heard that the Highway Trust Fund, the gasoline and diesel tax-based source for funding roads, bridges and transit programs, can no longer sustain funding at current levels. Indeed, since 2008 Congress has had to chip in more than $40 billion from the general fund to make good on federal transportation program commitments to the states.
