Bucshon: Time Running Out For Nation To Decide How To Fund Infrastucture Work
8/24/2012
Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - The nation needs to spend the two years before the current federal highway bill expires figuring out how to fund its infrastructure as gasoline tax revenues dwindle, U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon said Friday. It was the second panel discussion he's led this week alongside David Holt, the vice president of operations and business development for Conexus Indiana, a logistics think tank. The first was Wednesday in Evansville. Though they fielded questions covering a wide variety of infrastructure issues, one consistent theme was where federal, state and local governments would find the funding to pay for the projects they see as critical. For decades, gas tax revenues have paid for the nation's highway spending. But increasingly fuel-efficient vehicles and alternative energy sources have chipped into that tax stream, and without a new source of money, the federal government will have less to spend on infrastructure projects - leaving no way to pay for necessary repairs. Bucshon said states are using public-private partnerships such as Indiana's "Major Moves" toll road lease, which netted the state $3.85 billion to plow into the Interstate 69 extension and other projects. Link
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