Questioning the direction of transportation policy

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., are championing the $500 billion six-year Surface Transportation Act.

This financial commitment to our transportation system pales compared to the $2.2 trillion five-year expenditure necessary to raise the system’s overall “D” rating (according to the American Society of Civil Engineers) to satisfactory levels.

While it’s critical to pass this essential legislation to create jobs and improve roads, it will not address the long-term state and national challenges we face in transportation, air quality and oil resources.

So why would the United States continue to justify sinking billions of dollars into building cars and roads when we cannot fund the existing system or significantly reduce carbon emissions and lost time? We should be asking: Are we strategically building the right transportation future and are cars, green or not, the right mode of transportation for that future? Or more specifically, should the country more aggressively retool and pursue a national passenger rail system?

Stump