Washington Report: The Cost of Crumbling Infrastructure

by Craig Piercy, ACPA Washington Advocate

I’m annoyed. While early spring in Washington usually means potholes, this year they have appeared in epidemic levels. I’m talking about constant, deep, rim-bending monsters that cause people to drive like they just left the all-you-can-drink happy hour at the local bar. This year, the roads were so bad, in fact, that I parked my car for two weeks and drove the old truck we keep as a third family vehicle until our local DOTs could patch the roads up. While other regions of the country have not been impacted to the same degree, there is no question that we are witnessing the gradual disintegration of U.S. transportation infrastructure.

The solution is simple. Congress must pass—and the President sign—a long-term, robustly funded highway bill to give states and localities the financial means they need to accelerate roadway and bridge repair and replacement projects. On this point, there is broad bipartisan agreement. Yes, there are some in the conservative GOP chattering class who believe the best policy is “devolution,” whereby the federal government shifts responsibility for the public highways squarely into the lap of the states. However, in Congress today, the overwhelming majority of members recognize that maintaining a strong federal role in transportation is the only plausible path. The chairs of the House and Senate transportation policy committees are ready to move comprehensive highway legislation. Most of the major business and labor organizations are supportive. The policy side is ready to go.

That leaves us with the issue of funding. As you know from my previous columns, the Highway Trust Fund is bankrupt. Congress last raised the gas tax in 1993 to 18.4 cents per gallon, and because it did not index the tax for inflation, it has lost a third of its buying power. Congress has propped up the fund during the last few years by transferring money from the general fund. However, this is clearly not a sustainable strategy.

Many GOP members of Congress privately acknowledge the need to raise the gas tax in the short term (and begin developing a longer-term strategy based on “miles-not-gallons”). However, they’re mortally afraid of publicly endorsing a tax increase, thereby incurring the wrath of the Tea Party types and ultimately drawing a primary challenge from the right in next year’s elections.

It’s time for Congress to man up on this issue. Look, we are already paying the price for our crumbling infrastructure. Across the U.S., our deteriorating roads and bridges cause more than $67 billion in vehicle damage and increased operating costs each year. That equates to roughly $325 per U.S. driver per year!

Personally, I would rather pay a few extra cents at the pump each time I fill up, than write big checks to my local car dealership for alignments, flat tires, bent rims, shocks, idler arms, etc. And I suspect many other right-of-center people in the country feel the same way.

Have you contacted your member of Congress to support HR 1256, the Concrete Pump Tax Fairness Act?

Congressmen Roger Williams and Earl Blumenauer have reintroduced our bill to help alleviate concrete pumpers from being taxed for fuel used on the job site. Now it is up to you to make sure concrete pumpers are heard. Let’s put a stop to paying thousands of dollars in unnecessary fuel tax for our pumps. Write to your representative. Congressional offices are swayed by the letters and emails they receive from their constituents. You are who puts them into office; therefore, you can tell them what issues they should support. Write to your congressman today through the ACPA website, www.concretepumpers.com.

On the front page of the site is an image that will direct you to a letter you can send to your member of Congress in support of the Concrete Pump Tax Fairness Act. You have the option of emailing it directly to your representative from the site, or mailing it in personally. Simply enter your information in the boxes, then either hit “send” to email, or print the letter out on letterhead and send it off in the mail.

Let your voice be heard. Tell Congress the concrete pump industry is being unfairly taxed. Write to your representatives. Feel free to send a letter multiple times. Ask your employees write to their representatives. Have family and friends write to their representatives. Call your Congressional office and leave a voice message for your member. Congress works for you; tell them to fix the mistake they made!