ACEC Supports National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission’s Recommendations for Gas Tax Increase, VMT User Fee: “Commission Didn’t Duck the Hard Issues.”

WASHINGTON--In endorsing the recommendations of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, ACEC President David Raymond said:

“The Commission didn’t duck the hard issues. The reality is that funding the nation’s infrastructure demands an increase in the gas tax in the short term and the implementation of a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) user fee as soon as possible.

“Now it’s up to Congress and the Administration. We’re at a crossroads where policymakers have to decide whether to rebuild our economy by financing a 21st century transportation system, or continue to fall into the potholes of the last century.

“The gap between infrastructure needs and federal and state funding has become dangerously wide. Congress and the Administration must act quickly and decisively. The longer we wait, the more ground we lose, the more our economy suffers, and the more lives we lose on unsafe roads and bridges.

“We can’t kick this down the road any longer. Congress created two commissions to make recommendations on designing a transportation program of the future, and both have come back with essentially the same message. It’s now time to put politics aside and put these good ideas to work.”

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing approximately 5,700 independent engineering companies throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, environmental, industrial, and other infrastructure. Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations.