Rep. Shelley Moore Capito: Highway plan will help state
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- This week, House Republicans rolled out a comprehensive transportation plan to fix our nation's infrastructure and create jobs now and in the future. As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am honored to be a part of the team that will lead the charge to get this bill passed and signed into law. I have high hopes, especially since President Obama made transportation legislation a top priority during his State of the Union address last week.
The plan focuses on creating immediate and long-term jobs, cutting red tape that holds up projects, and giving more responsibility to individual states who know the lay of the land better than bureaucrats in Washington -- all while stabilizing the Highway Trust Fund and preventing it from going in the red.
The plan will create and support jobs for Americans, particularly in the construction, transportation and energy sectors. Because it reauthorizes federal highway, transit and highway safety programs for five years, states can plan multi-year projects and know that there will be money available to support them.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from local and state transportation officials is the regulation maze they have to go through to get projects completed. One of the ways we address this issue is by streamlining and condensing the project review process. For example, the plan allows federal and state agencies to review projects concurrently. It also eliminates or consolidates approximately 70 duplicative or irrelevant programs.
Recognizing that the needs of West Virginia may be different than California's, the plan gives states flexibility to set spending priorities by no longer requiring them to spend money on non-highway activities. We need to stop spending money we don't have and focus on funding our most critical infrastructure needs.
I am proud that many of these ideas were discussed at a congressional listening session right here in West Virginia. Top leaders on transportation policy gathered at Yeager Airport last year to listen to stakeholders about challenges and opportunities in transportation funding.
Overwhelmingly participants said a long-term, fully funded plan is a must. The reality is that the Highway Trust Fund is going broke at a time when we have tremendous opportunity to put people to work on transportation projects. I am pleased that leaders in the House have endorsed my plan to use royalties from expanded American energy production to help fund infrastructure investment.
Instead of increasing the gas tax or fees, let's take the money generated from expanded energy exploration -- which will also create thousands of jobs -- and invest it in an area where we know we'll get the biggest bang for our buck.
Capito, congresswoman from West Virginia's Second District, is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- This week, House Republicans rolled out a comprehensive transportation plan to fix our nation's infrastructure and create jobs now and in the future. As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am honored to be a part of the team that will lead the charge to get this bill passed and signed into law. I have high hopes, especially since President Obama made transportation legislation a top priority during his State of the Union address last week.
The plan focuses on creating immediate and long-term jobs, cutting red tape that holds up projects, and giving more responsibility to individual states who know the lay of the land better than bureaucrats in Washington -- all while stabilizing the Highway Trust Fund and preventing it from going in the red.
The plan will create and support jobs for Americans, particularly in the construction, transportation and energy sectors. Because it reauthorizes federal highway, transit and highway safety programs for five years, states can plan multi-year projects and know that there will be money available to support them.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from local and state transportation officials is the regulation maze they have to go through to get projects completed. One of the ways we address this issue is by streamlining and condensing the project review process. For example, the plan allows federal and state agencies to review projects concurrently. It also eliminates or consolidates approximately 70 duplicative or irrelevant programs.
Recognizing that the needs of West Virginia may be different than California's, the plan gives states flexibility to set spending priorities by no longer requiring them to spend money on non-highway activities. We need to stop spending money we don't have and focus on funding our most critical infrastructure needs.
I am proud that many of these ideas were discussed at a congressional listening session right here in West Virginia. Top leaders on transportation policy gathered at Yeager Airport last year to listen to stakeholders about challenges and opportunities in transportation funding.
Overwhelmingly participants said a long-term, fully funded plan is a must. The reality is that the Highway Trust Fund is going broke at a time when we have tremendous opportunity to put people to work on transportation projects. I am pleased that leaders in the House have endorsed my plan to use royalties from expanded American energy production to help fund infrastructure investment.
Instead of increasing the gas tax or fees, let's take the money generated from expanded energy exploration -- which will also create thousands of jobs -- and invest it in an area where we know we'll get the biggest bang for our buck.
Capito, congresswoman from West Virginia's Second District, is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
