BAF Applauds U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s State of American Business 2012

We were pleased to watch this morning’s speech by Thomas J. Donohue (President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce) because it included calls for a NextGen air traffic control system, long-term transportation bill and reforms to the process and financing options available for infrastructure projects.

EXCERPT (VIDEO – scroll to 13:15): …Expanding our energy infrastructure is just one part of a broader effort to      modernize the nation's entire physical platform. Congress has until January 31 to finish the FAA reauthorization, which has been delayed for more than four years. A new NextGen air traffic control system must be a top priority. It will ease delays, conserve fuel, create jobs, and save lives. Lawmakers also need to pass legislation to maintain investment in our roads, bridges, and transit systems.

SAFETEA-LU expires again on March 31st. If Congress doesn't act, the Highway Trust Fund would be cut a minimum of 35% by this fall, putting thousands out of work.

We also need to invest in our water infrastructure. And let me make this clear-every piece of infrastructure legislation should include reforms to speed up projects and encourage public-private partnerships and the use of private capital.

In fact, by knocking down the barriers, we can unlock up to $250 billion in private capital for infrastructure. Leverage this with public investments, and we could create 1.9 million jobs over 10 years.

We applaud the Chamber’s leadership and hope that Congress heeds their call for smart infrastructure investment and reform to get our economy moving again.

Building America’s Future Educational Fund recently released a new report – “Falling Apart and Falling Behind” – comparing the transportation infrastructure investments in the U.S. with those being made by our economic competitors:

U.S. infrastructure has fallen from first place in the World Economic Forum’s 2005 economic competitiveness ranking to number 15 today.

China now boasts six of the world’s top ten ports – and none of the top ten are located in the U.S.

U.S. air traffic control is managed by the same ground based system developed in the 1950’s.

The U.S. is one of the only leading nations without a national plan for public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects or a National Infrastructure Bank to finance large-scale projects and leverage private capital.

The report includes a series of recommendations to policymakers; chief among them is to develop a national infrastructure strategy for the next decade that makes choices based on economics, not politics. For the full report and more information, please visit http://www.BAFuture.org/Report.