ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Today, the American Trucking Associations launched a new
initiative to highlight the nation's infrastructure needs by
demonstrating the exorbitant cost of traffic congestion and road
disrepair borne by the motoring public.
"Our goal is to educate decision makers and the public about the
hidden costs of the status quo," said ATA President and CEO
Chris Spear. "If we're to
secure a better future for our country and this economy, then we
can no longer put off necessary improvements to our national
network of roads and bridges."
The push comes as Washington
begins debate on how best to fund roads and bridges. ATA is
promoting its plan, the Build America Fund, which would generate
$340 billion in new revenue over ten
years without adding a penny to the budget deficit.
"Opponents of a fuel user fee fail to mention a simple fact:
deteriorating roads and bridges exact a heavy price on the motoring
public – and that cost hits low- and middle-income drivers the
hardest," Spear said. "A fuel user fee is completely paid for
by users and does not add a penny to the deficit. There's a
reason why Ronald Reagan was such a
strong supporter of this policy throughout his presidency."
In case you missed it: Why Ronald Reagan was Right on
Infrastructure
ATA's new website and infrastructure investment campaign,
Road to a Better Future, features an educational video and
call to action, urging individuals to contact their representatives
and ask them to support new highway investment.
"What seems to get lost in the debate about highway funding is
that there is a cost to doing nothing, too," said David Congdon, CEO of Old Dominion Freight
Line and co-chair of ATA's Infrastructure Task Force. "The
irony here is that the cost of doing nothing is actually much
higher than what is actually required to fix our roads and
bridges."
"You can't build roads and bridges with fake funding. The
Build America Fund puts real money on the table," said
Jim Burg, task force co-chair
and president and CEO of James Burg Trucking Co. "Trucking is
coming to Washington with a
solution. We already pay nearly half the Highway Trust Fund,
and we're saying we'll pay more to get this job done."
American Trucking Associations is the largest national
trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation
of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related
conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America
depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on
Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking
Moves America Forward
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SOURCE American Trucking Associations