Home | Bold Action Needed to Sustain National Competitiveness
Bold Action Needed to Sustain National Competitiveness
AASHTO is pleased that Congress created the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission to analyze the Nation’s surface transportation needs, develop a conceptual plan showing how they can be met, and develop revenue recommendations for how to fund them. This is the first time in over 25 years that Congress has appointed a Commission to conduct a national policy review with this broad a scope. The charge to the National Transportation Policy Study Commission which reported its findings to Congress in 1979, was very similar to the one this Policy and Revenue Study Commission has today. There is, however, such a striking similarity between the way in which that Commission’s report “sounds an alarm,” and AASHTO’s Board of Directors issued a “Call for Action,” in our recommendations to this Commission, that we have presented them face to face on the next two pages. What they called for then was action to “meet the needs of a growing America.” What AASHTO calls for today is bold action to “sustain our national competitiveness.”
The recommendations made by the 1979 Commission dramatically improved America’s transportation system, by calling for sweeping deregulation of aviation, trucking and railroads, and a significant increase in transportation investment. We believe the potential for your Commission is just as great.
We believe the results of your study can help the Congress understand what needs to be done and that your recommendations can outline policies and revenue options for the future that can serve as the framework for the next highway and transit program reauthorization.
We are pleased that Congress specifically asked the Commission to consult with representatives of State Departments of Transportation to ensure that their views are considered. At AASHTO’s annual meeting October 30, 2006, in Portland, Oregon, our Board of Directors approved a set of policy recommendations from AASHTO to the Commission. This report conveys those recommendations. It is one of six reports AASHTO plans to convey to the Commission to assist in your deliberations. The others will address: Future Needs of the U.S. Surface Transportation System; America’s Freight Challenge; Revenue Sources to Fund the Needs of the U.S. Surface Transportation System; A Conceptual Plan to Ensure that the Surface Transportation System Will Continue to Serve the Needs of the United States; and A Performance-Based, Results-Driven National Surface Transportation Program.
As the front-line deliverers of transportation projects and services, State departments of transportation have insight based on experience. These recommendations reflect that unique perspective of a full partner with the federal government in assuring mobility in the 21st Century.
John Horsley, AASHTO Executive Director
