Let's Rebuild America

Policy Priorities for 2009

• Engage the business community in articulating the need to secure critical capacity increases in the near term to provide speed, reliability, and costeffective service to businesses and citizens.
• Redefine the infrastructure debate to focus on the capacity crisis and mobilize the business community to support increased investment in transportation infrastructure.
• Activate the Chamber’s national grassroots networks to garner support for transportation infrastructure and industry issues.
• Continue to educate the media, lawmakers, and opinion leaders about the national economic contributions made by transportation industries and derived from transportation infrastructure investment.

Highways and Public Transportation

Advocate for the swift reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU while ensuring that the federal role is defined, existing programs are reformed, wasteful spending is curbed, and federal investment in U.S. highways and transit systems is increased.

Aviation

Advocate for Congress to quickly reauthorize the taxes, fees, and programs associated with the daily operations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on a long-term basis. The FAA has been operating under a series of extensions since its authorizing legislation expired in September 2007. Also urge Congress to work with FAA to transform our nation’s aviation system through air traffic control modernization to meet the projected growth in passengers and freight.

Ports and Inland Waterways

Push for Congress and the administration to reinforce the federal government’s commitment to invest in the nation’s water infrastructure by acting expeditiously to reauthorize the Water Resources Development Act.

Freight Rail

Promote enactment of an infrastructure investment tax credit for the rail industry to help accommodate a projected 67% increase in freight traffic between 2000 and 2020. The railroad industry’s investment in infrastructure alone will not be enough to handle the projected increase.