Tag: politics: Page 5

Roadbuilding

Deficient roads and bridges cost Iowa drivers an extra $2 billion each year

Twenty-seven percent of Iowa’s major urban roads and highways are in poor condition, and 21 percent of the state’s bridges are structurally deficient, according to a report from The Road Improvement Program (TRIP). On Wednesday TRIP released “Iowa’s Top Transportation Challenges: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility” at a press conference at the Iowa State […]

February 19, 2015

Roadbuilding

Wisconsin road building debt to increase under governor’s proposal

Gov. Scott Walker’s current $1.3 billion road construction borrowing proposal would up state borrowing for road projects to a point that almost 20 percent would be used to pay off highway loans, according to an Associated Press report. The report continues that this increase, to 20 cents of every dollar taken in, is a leap from the 7 […]

February 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

North Carolina bill proposes gas tax increase for road construction funding

North Carolina Senate bill S20, passed February 12, would increase the minimum motor fuel excise tax by 67 percent, while raising the wholesale tax to 9.9 percent from 7 percent. The bill has been sent to House members for review and vote as bill H40. Under Part II: Motor Fuel Tax Changes, Section 2.1, the motor fuel excise […]

February 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

The 3 things needed right now to repair our nation’s bridges, according to 12 DOTs

The nation’s infrastructure system can be likened to an economic circulatory system – giving us freedom, opportunity and mobility—and this should not be taken for granted, said former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves during a recent infrastructure conference. “We should never undervalue the greatness and freedom our nation’s roads provide,” says Graves, now president and CEO […]

February 17, 2015

Roadbuilding

DOT Chief Foxx touring 5 states to promote $478 billion Grow America Act

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will wind his way through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia on a four-day bus tour to promote the Obama administration’s Grow America Act. The tour begins February 17. The tour will come almost a week after his presentation at the first hearing of the year on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill […]

February 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Bill introduced to SC House seeks to increase gas tax while another wants to halt all road construction for 5 years

Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives have filed two bills with very different agendas. If either were to become law, it would have a huge impact on road construction in the state. In section 5 of House Bill 3579, introduced Wednesday, includes language that would not allow new road construction until July 1, 2020. “This section must […]

February 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Sanders says his $1 trillion infrastructure bill would cost less than Iraq War

Sen. Bernie Sanders says his 5-year $1 trillion infrastructure bill would cost less than the estimated cost of the “Bush/Cheney Iraq War”, according to a report from The Hill. In a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, the independent senator from Vermont said estimates of the total cost of the war “will total $3 […]

February 10, 2015

Roadbuilding

Obama proposes 6-year, $478 billion highway bill; industry groups voice support

As part of his new, $3.99 trillion budget released Monday, President Barack Obama has proposed $478 billion to fund the country’s transportation and infrastructure work over the next six years. Instead of raising the federal gas tax, Obama’s proposal would be paid for with money generated by a one-time tax holiday for companies with overseas investments. […]

February 2, 2015

Roadbuilding

Tolls impede the American spirit of the open road

Jack Kerouac would weep, were he alive today. The author famous for making road trips a rite of passage would be shocked to find how tolls, tickets and traffic fines are being used as revenue enhancement schemes and an extension of the American surveillance state. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Drug Enforcement Administration […]

February 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

Sens. Paul and Boxer reach across the aisle, propose corporate tax holiday to boost infrastructure funding

Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) have proposed a corporate tax holiday to fund U.S. infrastructure projects. The proposal would give businesses a reprieve from penalties for avoiding prior taxes if they agree to move money back to the U.S. and pay a 6.5 percent rate on it. The money collected would then […]

February 1, 2015

Business

Vermont Senator introduces $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill

A U.S. senator from Vermont has filed a bill that would designate $1 trillion over the next five years to transportation and infrastructure spending, according to a report from The Hill. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders calls his bill the “Rebuild America Act,” noting in an op-ed piece also published by The Hill that, “a $1 trillion investment […]

January 28, 2015

Business

U.S. Chamber of Congress, AAA and ATA urge Congress to raise gas tax to fund long-term highway bill

With the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) inching ever so closer to insolvency, organizations are redoubling efforts to ensure Congress is passes a permanent fix, rather than a patch. AAA, the American Trucking Associations, and the U.S Chamber of Commerce submitted a joint letter to Congress Jan. 26 urging members of the 114th Congress to raise […]

January 27, 2015