“If we're stuck in gridlock, so is our economy. Congestion drives up the price of everything we make, buy and export. It's a $160 billion hidden tax.” That's the key message of a new ad campaign urging Congress and the Trump administration to act now to develop and pass a robust transportation infrastructure investment package and a permanent fix for the Highway Trust Fund.
The ad campaign, developed by the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) and Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) Coalition, features a 30-second television spot (“Stuck”) that began airing in Washington, D.C. Companion digital ads direct users to an opinion piece calling on policymakers to “envision and create the transportation network tomorrow demands.”
The piece outlines the groups' top two priorities:
Priority 1: Provide an expanded and sustainable revenue solution to support and grow future Highway Trust Fund-supported investments as Congress and the Trump administration work to develop an infrastructure investment package. A bipartisan 253 members of the House went on record in 2017 as supporting a Highway Trust Fund fix as part of tax reform. The Transportation Construction Coalition and Americans for Transportation Mobility agree that any trust fund solution “should entail a long-term, dedicated, user-based revenue stream.”
Priority 2: Any additional funds provided in an infrastructure package this year should be invested in projects that will facilitate long-term regional and national economic growth and create new jobs. This is a chance to ensure enduring benefits to both the economy and America's infrastructure.
The opinion piece concludes: “With Republicans, Democrats and President Trump all voicing support for an infrastructure bill, this is a rare chance for all parties to show how Washington can come together to accomplish big things for their constituents. This is a generational opportunity to turn blueprints and big thinking into a 21st century infrastructure network. Let's get moving.”
The ads will run over the next two months.
