Skip to main content

Foxx pushes Congress to pass transportation funding

US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx has called for lawmakers to pass a multi-year infrastructure funding bill, saying the cycle of temporary extensions is killing states' willingness for road and transit projects. It has been ten years since Congress last passed a transportation funding bill of longer than two years. "Last year we sent Congress a comprehensive multiyear proposal, the Grow America Act, which included 350 pages of precise policy prescriptions and substantial funding growth, all foc
January 30, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx has called for lawmakers to pass a multi-year infrastructure funding bill, saying the cycle of temporary extensions is killing states' willingness for road and transit projects.

It has been ten years since Congress last passed a transportation funding bill of longer than two years.

"Last year we sent Congress a comprehensive multiyear proposal, the Grow America Act, which included 350 pages of precise policy prescriptions and substantial funding growth, all focused on the future," he said during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee about transportation funding issues.  

He said the extension passed by Congress last year ‘averted a catastrophe but fell short’ of meeting the country’s needs. "It was not the first short-term measure, or patch, that has been passed,” he claimed. “It was, by my count, the 32nd in the last six years. And as a former mayor, I can tell you these short-term measures are doing to America what the state [Department of Transportation] says they're doing in Tennessee, literally killing their will to build."

Related Content

  • Toll roads important to Trump’s infrastructure plan
    January 10, 2017
    According to The Hill, US toll roads may surge under a US$1 trillion infrastructure proposal being floated by Donald Trump. The president elect’s idea for rebuilding the nation’s roads and bridges relies on private companies instead of the federal government to back transportation projects. Experts believe this means investors will be attracted to projects that can recoup their investment costs using some sort of revenue stream, such as through tolls or user fees. “If he moves forward with an infrastr
  • FASTLANE receives 212 applications for infrastructure funding
    May 23, 2016
    The US Department of Transportation has received 212 applications totalling nearly US$9.8 billion for grants through the newly-created Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program. Of these, 136 represent projects in urban areas, while the remaining 76 would support rural projects. “Transportation creates jobs and makes jobs of the future possible. We know there is pent up demand for projects that will speed up th
  • Georgia Yexley: Here's how micromobility can deliver public good
    June 27, 2023
    Georgia Yexley, founder of Loud Mobility, looks at the lessons on diversity, equity and inclusion which can be learned from the US and wider – and explores why it is a vital component for industry growth in the UK
  • ITS annual meeting - how transportation affects social issues
    August 2, 2012
    The 2010 ITS America Annual Meeting & Exposition, which will take place in Houston, Texas will offer attendees something of a contrast with the policy-driven event which took place in Washington, DC this year. Houston will go to the other end of the scale and focus on real-life technology applications and operational best practice, says event Co-Chair David Sparks