Issue 2-09

U.S. Needs New Infrastructure Policy to Remain Competitive, Speakers Say

The United States needs a national infrastructure policy for the 21st century to remain competitive with other developed and developing nations that are investing in their national infrastructure, speakers at a joint conference of the departments of Commerce and Transportation said May 11.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said, “America cannot compete successfully in the 21st century with a 20th century infrastructure. We need to find new ways to move products more efficiently if we are to keep pace with the rest of the world. That means viewing the relationship between trade and transportation more broadly, in interconnected and interrelated ways that are much more complex.”

Pennsylvania’s own Governor Ed Rendell spoke at the conference and urged Congress and the Administration to take swift action. He said the window for a new national infrastructure policy is slim, and policymakers need to rethink infrastructure financing – both where the money comes from and how it is allocated.

All options need to be on the table to increase infrastructure funding, Rendell said. Specifically, he mentioned public-private partnerships and lifting the restriction on states tolling interstate highways.

He also suggested that the gas tax and conventional funding mechanisms be used to allocate money to states mainly for maintenance, and that a national infrastructure bank be established for major new projects.

Source: BNA Construction Labor Report