There have always been champions who help get things done in our country and soon-to-retire Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is one of those. He has spent years advocating for sustainable federal dollars for modernizing infrastructure and knows that every dollar invested yields far more in economic returns.

The United States has lagged, in recent decades, behind its peers in the developed world when it comes to infrastructure, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The U.S. began investing less in transportation, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), than many other wealthy countries. Data from 2021 showed that China was spending 10 times more than America by percentage of GDP at 4.8 percent, and at 0.5 percent, America follows other nations, such as Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom (U.K.), France and Canada.

In a new podcast interview with No Time For Delays, Blumenauer spoke with Maury Tobin and infrastructure change-agent Ed Mortimer who is Vice President of Government Affairs for NextNav and previously was Executive Director of the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) Coalition.

“These [trade, the energy sector, foreign affairs, climate change, health and infrastructure] are interconnected and they are profoundly influencing the livability of our communities, the strength of our economy, the quality of life. I have worked on these issues for years and I’m excited at where we are now. … For decades we’ve been trying to get an administration to help us with the infrastructure funding conundrum but for the first time, we actually have an administration — and we’ve worked with all of them with varying degrees of success — that is absolutely committed to rebuilding and renewing America in a low-carbon equitable path," says Blumenauer.

At the end of 2021, the Biden Administration passed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a new milestone in boosting federal investment in America’s infrastructure and beleaguered transportation system.

The goal is to broadly update infrastructure and rebuild a network whose roots date back hundreds of years to rail rights-of-way and the Interstate Highway System, which America began constructing in the 1950s. The United States is tackling issues that range from replacing lead pipes, public services being delivered to Native Americans, faster trains, determining future federal revenue streams, and fixing crumbling roads. The push to raise the federal gas tax to buoy the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) has not prevailed.

Also, in the face of costly climate change and the impacts of a reliance on fossil fuels, American leaders are working to reshape our power grid, and compete in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.

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No Time for Delays is a critical source for information and insight about the rebuilding of America. We feature interviews with distinguished experts and changemakers who weigh in on what’s happening and what needs to happen. Follow us on social media. Listen to the podcast. Watch our videos. And subscribe to the e-mail newsletter.

Without question, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is finally moving critical infrastructure projects forward with new funding to states. Yet the gulf between Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the importance of funding transportation is omnipresent.

This is despite a March NBC/NORC poll which concluded that, among categories where American adults would like to see more spending, 62 percent said there is too little spent on infrastructure.

While the IIJA is spurring green energy spending and an economic boost, it could not be more clear that prioritizing funding for the United States’ infrastructure is no longer a bedrock bipartisan issue.

So far, there is no long-term fix for the beleaguered Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The gas tax remains at a 1993 rate, states have pursued their own ballot initiatives to shore up transportation funding, and the feasibility of a federal fee-based revenue source, that would draw on technology to track miles a vehicle is driven in an era of more fuel-efficient and electric cars, is consistently broached.

No Time For Delays discusses some of this with Jeff Davis, Senior Fellow with the Eno Center for Transportation and Editor of the Eno Transportation Weekly, in our newest podcast. The Eno Center for Transportation recently completed a report on the national vehicle miles traveled (VMT)-fee pilot program, which is part of IIJA funding but not yet developed. Eno offers guidance and perspectives on the importance of costs, equity, privacy protection, interoperability, and implementation complexity.

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No Time for Delays is a critical source for information and insight about the rebuilding of America. We feature interviews with distinguished experts and changemakers who weigh in on what’s happening and what needs to happen. Follow us on social media. Listen to the podcast. Watch our videos. And subscribe to the e-mail newsletter.

Interview with Paso Robles Councilmember Fred Strong

Rebuilding America’s transportation system and infrastructure remain a top-line concern. But managing higher project costs and improving road safety are at the forefront of states’ expansion efforts.

On the Central Coast of California, a national tragedy long ago pointed to the need to reconstruct more narrow rural roads and address potentially dangerous features.

California’s push to improve portions of State Route 46, from a two-lane to a four-lane divided expressway, and save lives were in part propelled because of the death of actor James Dean 68 years ago on a stretch of road where his Porsche crashed.

Improving Safety Requires Local, State & Federal Funding

The 2021-passed bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was a recognition that the status quo, of flatlined federal infrastructure investment and outdated transportation systems, cannot continue.

However, raising state funding and getting federal money to states and localities can be the more challenging part. Increased costs and delays can affect project programming. State and local officials must continually plan, advocate and identify funding to improve regional transportation networks.

“Safety and saving lives is what it’s all about,” says Paso Robles Councilmember Fred Strong in the latest No Time For Delays podcast. Paso Robles is located in San Luis Obispo County, a burgeoning region that links parts of the sprawling state.

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No Time for Delays is a critical source for information and insight about the rebuilding of America. We feature interviews with distinguished experts and changemakers who weigh in on what’s happening and what needs to happen. Follow us on social media. Listen to the podcast. Watch our videos. And subscribe to the e-mail newsletter.