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Secretary Chao to Headline Infrastructure Week Kickoff May 15
The fifth annual Infrastructure Week will commence May 15 with a keynote address from the country’s top transportation officer.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is scheduled to address thousands of freight and transit officials, infrastructure experts, business leaders and lawmakers at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Chao is among the architects of President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-unveiled $1 trillion, 10-year plan that would invest in infrastructure projects. She recently acknowledged challenges with identifying funding for the plan, after Trump suggested a combination of public and private funding would pay for maintenance and modernization projects.
COMING MAY 19: LiveOnWeb Infrastructure Week Reporter Roundtable
“There are about 16 different ways of financing or funding the infrastructure, and every single one of them will have detractors,” Chao told Bloomberg News this month.
The kickoff also will feature the chamber President Tom Donohue, American Society of Civil Engineers President Norma Jean Mattei and National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons.
Stakeholders will be calling for a permanent revenue source for the Highway Trust Fund. With Congress considering an overhaul of the U.S. tax code, transportation groups say the moment is ideal for identifying a sustainable revenue source that would complement revenue from federal fuel taxes. The trust fund, which is used to assist states with projects, relies on the gas and diesel tax. Those taxes have not changed since 1993.
“I hope that the events throughout the week continue educating the general public about what the needs are, being specific to what’s in their neighborhood or community,” AFL-CIO government affairs representative Tom Trotter told Transport Topics on May 9. “Put pressure on the politicians to do something serious about it to set the stage for the long term for our country.”
The week also will feature panels and seminars. On May 17, for instance, the Transportation Construction Coalition will host an event that will feature House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who will offer insight on efforts to resolve the Highway Trust Fund’s insolvency.