'The backbone of our economy is the asphalt, steel and concrete of our roads and bridges,' ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said, 'and proposals to fund those roads should be equally concrete. For five years, we've waited for President Obama to clearly state how we should pay for these critical needs and, I'm sad to say, we continue to get lip service about the importance of roads and bridges with no real roadmap to real funding solutions.'
'A safe and efficient network of highways is critical not just to my business, but to all businesses in this country,' said ATA Chairman Mike Card, president of Combined Transport, Central Point, Ore. 'Trucking is willing to step up and pay more to ensure this country has the world-class highways it deserves, but until the President and congressional leaders advance a plan with real funding solutions, I worry about the continued deterioration of one of our nation's most critical competitive advantages.'
ATA is and continues to be a strong, vocal advocate for increasing funding for roads, highways and bridges, but also for identifying efficient and effective sources of real revenue to do so.
'Accounting gimmicks and budget tricks only get you so far,' Graves said, 'sooner or later you need to take a hard look at the situation and decide that we're either going to invest in these things or we're not and if we are, that we need to generate more revenue than we do now. It's time to show us the money and where you intend to get it from. Simply letting states borrow more is no substitute for increased federal investment.'
