“The National Multimodal and Sustainable Freight Infrastructure Act” would raise an estimated $8 billion annually for goods movement infrastructure WASHINGTON, DC – With infrastructure atop the bipartisan legislative priorities in Washington, the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) applauded the recent introduction of a bill to strengthen our nation’s economic competitiveness through freight infrastructure investment. As proposed, The National Multimodal and Sustainable Freight Infrastructure Act, or H.R. 3001 will create a 1 percent fee on the cost of transporting goods, to be paid by beneficial cargo owners, raising an estimated $8 billion annually. “The FAST Act’s freight program remains a monumental achievement and oversubscription of the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects Program – $13 of requests for every $1 available – points to the need for a robust, dedicated, and fully multimodal freight program such as the one proposed by Congressman Lowenthal,” said Tim Lovain, CAGTC Chairman and Executive Vice President of Crossroads Strategies. “This proposal comes at a critical juncture, when Congress and the Administration are seeking to bolster economic competitiveness through infrastructure investment and tax reform.” Fees collected would be deposited into a Freight Trust Fund and distributed evenly through a freight formula program administered to state departments of transportation, and a freight competitive grant program available to states, regional and local government entities. Both programs are fully multimodal, allowing transportation agencies to invest in their most critical freight needs, regardless of mode. “Congressman Lowenthal has been a tenacious advocate for multimodal freight infrastructure needs,” stated CAGTC President Leslie Blakey. “Not only is his approach to freight funding thoughtful and practical, but it is modeled after an approach that has proven to be successful and efficient – the existing air freight tax. Targeted, sustained, and robust investment in our nation’s freight system, as Congressman Lowenthal is proposing, is necessary to maintain the strength of American industry in a very competitive world marketplace.” Since its formation, CAGTC has supported the development of a multimodal freight-specific grant program that distributes money to meritorious projects on a competitive basis, using economically-driven criteria. A commitment to investment in goods movement and dedicated funding for a freight program is critical for America to ensure a safe, efficient, reliable, multimodal supply chain that will continue to stoke the engine of commerce and support job growth.