"Now that Secretary Peters has announced the withdrawal of a veto threat over the Highway Trust Fund emergency funding legislation, I urge Congress to act as quickly as possible to authorize the transfer of these critical funds," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "The stark reality facing our nation is that we have neglected our infrastructure for far too long and the bill is coming due. Current revenue streams are failing to keep pace with infrastructure need."
The Highway Trust Fund had been projected to run into deficit during the 2009 fiscal year. However, a reduction in vehicle miles traveled has sharply reduced federal income for infrastructure projects.
ATA believes America needs to invest heavily in its transportation infrastructure to ease congestion, alleviate bottlenecks, and repair existing infrastructure to ensure the systematic movement of freight on a safe and reliable network of roads and highways and to maintain the world's pre-eminent transportation infrastructure network.