AMERICA FAST FORWARD: REBUILDING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND GENERATING JOBS

WHEREAS, investments in transportation infrastructure generate more than $244 billion in total annual U.S. economic activity and confer significant benefits to cities, including: building the infrastructure necessary to support economic growth and creating high quality jobs; and

WHEREAS, America’s unemployment rate remains at 8.1 percent; and

WHEREAS, local and state governments should be provided incentives for innovative financing for infrastructure projects at a time when early construction of these projects can be done at the lowest possible cost and have the most profound impact on creating sustainable jobs and existing tools for transportation investment are insufficient; and

WHEREAS, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) of 1998 established a Federal credit program for eligible transportation projects of national or regional significance; and

WHEREAS, America Fast Forward would support the creation of a 21st century national surface transportation system by expanding and enhancing TIFIA; and

WHEREAS, the bipartisan Senate transportation bill, Moving Ahead Progress for the 21st Century (MAP-21), includes America Fast Forward and passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support; and

WHEREAS, for nearly 30 years, a portion of Federal motor fuels tax revenues has been dedicated to transit investment, providing a reliable and predictable source of funding for transit investment and should remain dedicated to public transportation; and

WHEREAS, the House has sought to drastically reduce funding for transit, which would result in dramatic job losses nationwide and make it more difficult for working families to have affordable transportation to and from their jobs; and

WHEREAS, the final conference report for the surface transportation bill should include language that would allow public transit agencies to use a portion of their federal transit funding for day-to-day operating expenses;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to expeditiously complete a conference agreement on transportation reauthorization legislation that includes America Fast Forward and continues the dedication of Highway Trust Fund dollars to public transit as well as highway and bridge infrastructure projects across the nation.