The American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA) commended the Trump Administration for its newly released infrastructure plan to fix America’s roads.
Trump’s plan would invest $1.5 trillion for infrastructure, with $200 billion of that coming from federal money and the rest coming from local and state tax dollars, as well as private investment.
The organization – which represents the interests of motoring clubs, professional drivers, and businesses that depend on good roads – said the plan would increase investment to improve roads and highways while reducing regulations.
“The President has moved the ball forward and now it’s time for Congress to transform this proposal into one that fixes the Highway Trust Fund and will result in significant, noticeable road and bridge improvements,” Greg Cohen, president and CEO of AHUA, said.
Cohen said it is imperative for lawmakers to gain public support for this initiative.
“Congressional leaders and the President must reach out to American drivers and explain clearly that a true transformation of our highway infrastructure will cost money. Small annual increases in fuel taxes or other equivalent user fees will be needed but worth the cost. Road repairs don’t happen for free and we should not add to the deficit to solve this problem,” Cohen said. “Good roads cost money but bad roads cost more.”
He also encouraged Congress to support spending transparency and embrace regulatory reforms.
“Even though we recognize that highway users must pay for the roads we use, we also demand that Congress clearly show that our money is not being wasted, projects are not delayed by regulatory overreach, funding is not kept in Washington for political appointees and bureaucrats to play with, and that revenue from motorists will be directly supporting performance-driven State plans to improve safety, move freight, and alleviate congested bottlenecks,” Cohen explained.
The alliance supports several user-fee proposals to fund the Highway Trust Fund. Among them, they support a five-cent per year increase over five years and indexation of the fee to inflation and fuel economy. AHUA also supports other options that raise equivalent levels of user fee funds.