AASHTO Journal, 10 October 2014
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew (left) speaks for infrastructure investment and the president’s transportation proposal.
Photo by the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew took to an economics forum to help make the case for the administration’s surface transportation plan, which would use a temporary windfall from a corporate tax overhaul to cover four years of enhanced spending on highway, transit and rail systems.
Lew told the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics Oct. 7 that the Obama infrastructure plan would “take out two problems at the same time” by addressing a “broken business tax code” and using transitional revenue on infrastructure investments.
Asked about the willingness of Congress to tackle the issue, Lew told the group: “I actually think there’s broad bipartisan interest in doing more on infrastructure … what’s challenging is how to pay for it and how to break through gridlock.” Here is an IIE video of his complete remarks.
That builds on frequent comments from Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who has been visiting various states in recent weeks to tour local projects while also saying passage of the administration’s proposal could boost project spending for years.
Some congressional leaders have also suggested a potential linkage between reshaping the tax system and paying for highway and transit programs that are due to run out of money next May.
Many in the transportation policy arena, however, hope Congress will enact a long-term highway and transit bill that locks in a sustainable revenue stream that keeps the Highway Trust Fund afloat long into the future.
Lew’s remarks come in the wake of a new report from the International Monetary Fund, which touted the economic multiplier effect of infrastructure spending on transportation and other facilities. It said in advanced economies with low growth but with currently low interest rates, “now is a good time for an infrastructure push.”