Following a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leadership, the American Trucking Association (ATA) is urging both sides to continue a bipartisan push toward addressing infrastructure needs.
Specifically, they seek a well-funded infrastructure bill, and thus far, they have been encouraged by the tone held between the two sides — a rare potential for bipartisanship on Capitol Hill.
“Americans are literally wasting billions of dollars and millions of hours stuck in traffic because there has not been the necessary investment and maintenance of our nation’s roads and bridges,” Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO, said. “We are encouraged to hear President Trump, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and other key Congressional Democrats are in agreement on a ‘big, bold’ vision to invest as much as $2 trillion on our deteriorating infrastructure.”
The ATA has proposed a five-cent increase to the fuel user fee over four years. By the end, the twenty cent increase would, according to their estimates, generate $340 billion in funds for investment in roads and bridges. Spear has labeled it the one funding tool that pays for itself by users and called it an effective, efficient means of generating cash for maintenance.
Trump and Congressional leadership are scheduled to meet again in the coming weeks.