U.S. business group, officials push for swift action on infrastructure
25/02/2021 13:01
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
unions and elected U.S. officials are urging Congress to take
speedy action to dramatically boost spending on crumbling U.S.
infrastructure.
This week, the largest U.S. business group will begin
running local ads focused on the Brent Spence Bridge, a key
crossing connecting Kentucky and Ohio which has been dubbed
"functionally obsolete", to make the argument it is time for
action on infrastructure after years of debate.
Adding a second bridge would cost $2.5 billion and officials
in both states have not agreed on a way to fund it.
President Joe Biden, who talked about a $2 trillion
infrastructure plan during the 2020 campaign, plans to ask
Congress in coming weeks to invest heavily in infrastructure.
Studies show close to half of U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre
condition and more than a third of U.S. bridges need repair,
replacement or significant rehabilitation.
"It's going to be a big bill," said Neil Bradley, executive
vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce in an interview. "The time for talk is over. The time
for action is now."
The Chamber joined dozens of other groups in pressing for
action on infrastructure by July 4, or U.S. Independence Day.
Bradley warns the biggest danger to a deal is lawmakers failing
to have a sense of urgency.
"If Congress is not going to pass an infrastructure bill
now, why should we think it would ever pass?" he said.
Senator Tom Carper, who chairs the Senate Environment and
Public Works (EPW) Committee, said at a transportation
infrastructure hearing Wednesday "the American people are
counting on us to make this happen."
"They don’t want to hear us talking about what needs to be
done. They want us to work together and get it done," Carper
added.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, and Michigan
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, urged EPW to find a
stable source of long-term highway funding.
Whitmer said 43% of Michigan’s major roads are in poor or
mediocre condition. "We need significant investments in our
roadways and bridges," she said.
Biden met last week with union leaders, who also urged quick
action on infrastructure.
Former President Donald Trump and congressional leaders
failed to agree on a major bill to repair and replace aging and
dangerous bridges, highways airports, water pipes and other
projects.
Funding has been a point of contention in recent years after
Congress abandoned a decades-old policy of using fuel tax
revenue to largely pay for infrastructure repairs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JW0BZ
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da
Costa)
((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))