Federal spending on transportation projects needs to be increased, according to 70 percent of participants in a recent phone survey conducted by Zogby International.
The poll, which was recently commissioned by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, asked 1,000 voters about their support of a federal highway and public transit bill, which will be debated by Congress next month. More than 80 percent said the highway network is “very important,” and most of the remaining respondents found it “somewhat important.” According to the results, more than 80 percent of the respondents also agreed that Congress and President Bush need to be doing more to create jobs for those who want to work.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, every additional $1 billion invested by the federal government in highway and transit capital investments creates 47,500 jobs.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee bill, H.R. 3550, would provide $375 billion in federal highway and transit investment over the next six years. The Senate bill, in contrast, would provide $311, and the Bush administration’s proposal would give $247 billion to highway construction and maintenance.
