Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who is leaving his post, is confessing that the roads of America are crumbling because there simply isn’t enough money in the government’s coffers to fix them.
LaHood said, “America is one big pothole right now. At one time… we were the leader in infrastructure. We built the interstate system. It’s the best road system in the world, and we’re proud of it. But we’re falling way behind other countries, because we have not made the investments.”
Congress appropriated $105 billion for roads in 2012, but that will only last until 2014. LaHood complained, “Congress passed a two-year bill. Ordinarily they would pass a five-year bill. It was only a two-year bill because they couldn’t find enough money to fund a five-year bill.”
The 18.4 cents-per-gallon taxes on gasoline purchases brings in roughly $35 billion per year, which is not enough to fix the infrastructure system. The House GOP offered to raise more revenue by linking funding for the roads to increased offshore oil drilling, but Senate Democrats blocked the effort.
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