John Thune: “Today, Senator Wyden and I are introducing an important piece of legislation that seeks to address the significant…”

“Today, Senator Wyden and I are introducing an important piece of legislation that seeks to address the significant transportation infrastructure needs that exist across the country. The Build America Bonds Act would provide $50 billion in infrastructure investment for all states across the country. This legislation is a slightly modified version of bills that Senator Wyden and others advocated in previous Congresses. While the Federal Government has allocated record funding levels to States under the Transportation reauthorization bill that Congress passed in 2005, the need for infrastructure improvements far exceeds available Federal and State funding sources. For instance, the American Society of Civil Engineers has noted that over the next 5 years, $1.6 trillion in investment is needed from all levels of government to keep our Nation's current transportation system up to date. To put this into perspective, this funding level is roughly six times larger than what is currently being spent. Our legislation, the Build America Bonds Act, is not intended to replace the current user-fee structure the highway trust fund relies on today--it would be a supplemental funding stream that would allow States to address the backlog of important highway, bridge, rail, and waterway projects that exist in every State across the country. The funding under our legislation would not be earmarked by Congress--it would be distributed directly to States.”