The chairman of the House committee tasked with overhauling the nation’s tax code said that he was open to including sustained infrastructure funding as part of a tax reform package.
“Infrastructure’s sort of the satellite that continues to circle tax reform,” House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady, R-Texas, told Politico on Thursday, September 14.
“We’ll continue the discussion with the White House and other members that would like to see that as part of it.”
Earlier in the week, the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association and the Highway Materials Group sent a letter to House leadership urging them to use the reform package for infrastructure investment.
“Comprehensive tax reform is the logical vehicle to identify and implement a robust and sustainable funding mechanism that addresses the Highway Trust Fund shortfall to achieve the long-term vision for our national transportation system,” the group’s letter read.
Brady’s comments come just a week before hundreds of people in the aggregates industry take hundreds of meetings with members of Congress to advocate for infrastructure funding and a positive regulatory environment during NSSGA’s Legislative & Policy Forum/Fall Board Meeting in Washington, DC, September 24-28.
“Discussions on how to fund our nation’s crumbling infrastructure are going on all over Capitol Hill, but there are few commitments from lawmakers," said Laura O’Neill-Kaumo, the association’s senior vice president for government and regulatory affairs.
"It’s an important time to galvanize support and use tax reform to find a long-term and sustainable way of funding our crumbling roads, highways and bridges."
“We are very excited that in a little over a week, a small army of advocates for aggregates will take to Capitol Hill and urge Congress to use tax reform to fill the $121 billion shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund," O’Neill-Kaumo said.
