This is how infrastructure should be funded: Chris Spear
President Donald Trump unveiled his infrastructure plan on Monday, and Chris Spear, the CEO and president of the American Trucking Associations, said he is delighted that the commander-in-chief is having this debate, but now the real work begins: paying for it, adding that infrastructure is not free, and it’s not cheap.
To fund infrastructure, the American Trucking Associations is proposing a “build America fund,” which will include a gas tax of five cents per gallon, phased in over four years, that will raise $340 billion over 10 years.
“Its real money, it’s immediate, it will shore up the trust fund, and it’s conservative—it’s less than one cent on the dollar to administer. We want real money on the table, and that’s what we want to see out of this debate,” Spear told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” on Monday.
Dagen McDowell joined the conversation, asking Spear about the gas tax and Spear said: “Increasing [the] gas tax by five cents a year over four years baked into the wholesale price of gas – we believe this is the most efficient and immediate way to raise money … tolling, etc. requires a lot of throughput, with tolling costing 35 cents on the dollar to administer is not conservative. Our proposal is and we believe it is the right way to fund infrastructure.”
Spear noted that the American Trucking Associations' proposal is similar to proposals former President Ronald Regan signed twice during his administration, and added: “We are here to help this president and this Congress to get an infrastructure bill across the finish line.”