Rebuilding America’s Economy Starts with a Solid Infrastructure Platform
By Janet Kavinoky, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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The nation’s infrastructure is the central nervous system of our $13 trillion economy.
 
This physical platform enables us to move around by air, road, rail and waterway; supplies us with the energy and water needed for our homes, businesses and farms; and provides the vehicle by which we transmit information at ever faster speeds. Once one of America’s proudest achievements and biggest challenge, our infrastructure now has enormous potential to boost the U.S. economy.
 
We are all aware of the challenges and now the demands on our critical infrastructure, which will continue to grow as the U.S. population soars from 300 million to an expected 420 million by 2050 — that’s the equivalent of adding 11 Los Angeles-size metropolitan areas. This means we need to determine how we transform our current infrastructure to accommodate more people and goods, while also explore multiple modes
of transportation.
 
For the longest time, other nations looked to the United States as a model for infrastructure. Now, we are looking to see how other countries are managing growth and transforming their infrastructure. For example, high-speed rail in parts of Asia are light years ahead of the United States. We allocate 2 percent of our GDP to infrastructure; European governments, about 5 percent; and China, between 9 percent and 12 percent.
 
So, what needs to be done to transform our infrastructure to become more competitive, spur economic growth and establish effective policies that sustain America’s infrastructure for the long term?
 
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched the Let’s Rebuild America initiative in August 2007 to help answer this question. The initiative focuses on driving public awareness, expanding research and building strong political action toward four long-term goals:
 
• Establish infrastructure as a core economic issue and a high priority for all levels of government
 
• Engage the public to support sound policies and greater public and private infrastructure investment
 
• Remove obstacles to private investment in infrastructure capacity and promote policies that streamline project delivery
 
• Ensure adequate public-sector investment is guided by effective policies and programs
 
Spur Private Investment in Infrastructure
First, we need to increase investment. The economic stimulus is a short-term investment boost, but we need to put in place a financing system that will meet our needs. We must find additional revenue streams and tap both public and private sources. In some states and localities, public-private partnerships are gaining popularity. Still, the private sector is holding back billions of additional infrastructure dollars because of burdensome regulations. The Chamber’s Let’s Rebuild America initiative will identify and seek to reform those rules and policies that threaten the efficiency of our logistics system and obstruct positive investments in our nation’s future. In addition, we must explore every public financing option available. For instance, an increase in the federal gasoline tax, the revenues of which are injected into the Highway Trust Fund, is long overdue. It’s been stagnant for 14 years. We can create good American jobs, clean the air, succeed in a global economy, preserve a good quality of life and save innocent lives by investing in our infrastructure.
 
Serve National Interest
Second, we need to look at infrastructure through a wide lens, investing in projects that serve the national interest. The last federal surface transportation reauthorization bill contained earmarks totaling nearly $15 billion for some 5,000 pet projects. Earmarks undermine the integrity of federal programs, particularly when they do not address national needs or objectives. Congress should set a strict limit on earmarks and projects should be subject to a rigorous cost-benefit analysis that puts the public good above political expediency. For example, this may mean more road construction in some communities and more investment in mass transit in others.
 
Expedite Project Delivery
Finally, we need a top-to-bottom review of regulations that explain why the construction
of electricity transmission facilities has declined 30 percent since 1990 and why road project delivery times have stretched to 13 years on average. We can implement environmental safeguards without bringing infrastructure development to a near halt. We need to determine a comprehensive way to assess the totality of America’s infrastructure needs — not just what is required to patch things up, but what we must do to move our country and economy forward.
 
Through its Let’s Rebuild America initiative, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is building greater support for infrastructure through education, grassroots action, lobbying and communications. Building a 21st century infrastructure network is more than just a good idea — it’s an imperative for our mobility, the economy and jobs, our competitiveness, our health and safety. This is the time for another American moment, similar to when President Eisenhower launched the interstate highway program more than 50 years ago. Let’s Rebuild America is encouraging the American people and businesses to seize the opportunity before us.
 
For more information, visit www.letsrebuildamerica.com.
 
Janet Kavinoky is director of transportation infrastructure in the Congressional and Public Affairs Division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In this capacity, she serves as the Chamber’s senior lobbyist and policy expert on all transportation infrastructure issues. In addition, she is the executive director of the Americans for Transportation Mobility —
a national business-labor-construction industry coalition that unifies transportation stakeholders to support increased federal investment in an interconnected, multimodal transportation system.