A well maintained, reliable and efficient highway network is vital to the delivery of freight and the nation’s economy, American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Chris Spear said.
Spear recently testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The hearing, Freight Movement: Assessing Where We Are Now and Where We Need to Go, addressed freight transportation mobility.
The Highway Trust Fund is forecasted to be unable to meet infrastructure project spending at current levels by fiscal year 2021. Over the next decade, at least $60 billion will be needed annually.
ATA supports the Build America Fund which would be funded by a 20 cent per gallon tax. Revenue collected would be given to the highway fund and the proposed National Priorities Fund. Any funds left over after money has been allocated to the two funds would be transferred to the Local Priorities Program.
“ATA believes that this approach would give state and local transportation agencies the long-term certainty and revenue stability they need to maintain and begin to improve their surface transportation systems,” Spear said. “We believe that a fuel tax is the most fair and efficient method for funding highways.”