2014 Budget

2014 Budget offers No Solid Solutions for Infrastructure Development for ATA

2014 Budget offers No Solid Solutions for Infrastructure Development for ATA

After President Barack Obama came out with his budget, the American Trucking Association (ATA) members claimed that it didn’t offer sufficient direction or details about the way the country should be paying fir its infrastructure demands.

The CEO and President of ATA, Bill Graves says that the economy of the country depends on the concrete, steel and asphalt used for making its highways and bridges. Therefore, the proposals made for funding the infrastructure should be solid. He further added that for 5 years, the ATA looked forward to the president for a clear statement on how the ATA members should be paying for the infrastructure. However, after the announcement of the budget, there is no real groundwork for the funding solutions.

On the other hand, the White House claims that the budget clearly states about investments in making repairs in the current infrastructure and constructing infrastructure for the future such as faster rail, high-technology educational institutes and power grids that can meet the future demands.

President Obama’s budget invests $50 billion directly into infrastructure, out of which 80% will be spent on repair projects involving bridges, highways, airports and transit systems. The remaining 20% has been planned for the development of new innovative programs involving high-end infrastructure.

Mike Card, the Chairman of ATA and President of Oregon based Combined Transport says that an efficient and safe system of highways is important for all types of businesses. The trucking industry is ready to give more out of its pocket for ensuring that the U.S. has excellent highways, but it will require a real and solid proposal from the President and Congress to meet this requirement.

ATA has always been advocating to increase the funds for the development of highways, bridges and road networks, and to identify genuine and efficient revenue sources for these projects.