Trucking Groups Back Road Spending in Biden's Infrastructure Plan but Balk at Funding
In March 2021, the White House unveiled the American Jobs Plan, and trucking groups welcomed its highway money while objecting to how it would be paid for.
On March 31, 2021, President Joe Biden unveiled the American Jobs Plan, an infrastructure proposal of nearly $2.3 trillion. Trucking groups praised its focus on roads and bridges but pushed back on how it would be funded and on its labor provisions.
What the plan proposed for highways
According to Commercial Carrier Journal's reading of the White House fact sheet, the plan called for $621 billion in transportation infrastructure. About $135 billion of that would go directly to roads, bridges and highway safety:
- $115 billion to modernize 20,000 miles of highways, roads and main streets, repair the 10,000 worst small bridges and rebuild the ten most economically significant bridges in need of reconstruction.
- $20 billion for road safety, including a new Safe Streets for All program.
The proposal also included $174 billion to support electric vehicles, including money for 500,000 charging stations. The White House planned to pay for the package mainly through corporate tax changes, including raising the corporate rate from 21% to 28%.
Industry reaction
The American Trucking Associations' president and CEO, Chris Spear, commended the administration for its vision but rejected the funding approach. "We do not believe the Administration's funding proposal is politically tenable nor a reliable long-term solution to the shortfall facing the Highway Trust Fund," he said in a statement on March 31, 2021.
Spear also objected to some provisions, "especially those related to labor." He called the plan "an important marker" as Congress started work on a surface transportation reauthorization bill. ATA said it wanted a funding mechanism that is user-based and sustainable.
Truckload Carriers Association President John Lyboldt raised similar concerns about Highway Trust Fund solvency, CCJ reported. He also warned against language that could threaten the independent contractor model.
NATSO, which represents truck stops and travel plazas, said it was pleased the plan did not include tolling existing interstates or commercializing rest areas.
What it means for drivers and fleets
For carriers, the proposal set the terms of a debate that would shape highway conditions, congestion and costs for years. Truck parking was one open question: CCJ noted that 34.1% of respondents to ATRI's 2020 critical issues survey saw a federal infrastructure bill as the best chance to invest in parking capacity.
The plan was a starting point, not legislation. It still had to pass through Congress, where Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called it "a liberal wish-list." How the final package would be funded, and whether labor provisions affecting owner-operators would survive, were the key questions for the industry.