Rahall Addresses West Virginia Transportation & Infrastructure Summit

Press Release

oTday, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, addressed the West Virginia Transportation and Infrastructure Summit in Charleston, an event organized by the Discover the Real West Virginia Foundation, an initiative started by Senator Jay Rockefeller, who led the day's event. Also speaking at the Summit were U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Senator Joe Manchin who, along with Rockefeller, joined Rahall in calling for a fix to the Federal Highway Trust Fund to avoid construction delays later this summer.

"I'm confident Congress will pass a solution for the near term, but I am going to keep the pressure on for a longer-term bill that will set out a robust investment level for years to come," said Rahall. "We need to do better than the current, insufficient investment levels, or our nation is going to be stuck treading water. And a nation just trying to stay afloat isn't going to be in a position to compete in the global economy against other countries that are rapidly increasing their infrastructure investment."

Last Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a bill to address the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund and extend current surface transportation law. This bill will be up for a vote in the full House this week. Also late last week, the Senate Finance Committee approved legislation similar to the House bill.

"We all know that project delays and uncertainty are exactly the opposite of what our economy needs right now," said Rahall. "We need to be investing in infrastructure, creating jobs, and bolstering our business sector. This is true in West Virginia and all across this country."

Rahall cited the City of Huntington's downtown business district revitalization project as a way transportation and infrastructure investments can create jobs and support local economic growth. Armed with $27 million in federal investments that Rahall secured for the project, Huntington constructed an intermodal project, which, tied in with Tri-State Transit Authority service, has helped to reopen the downtown area to greater economic opportunities. As a retail entertainment complex, Pullman Square is a new epicenter for downtown activity from festivals to holiday celebrations. It's also a magnet for bringing people back to the downtown.

"This is just one of the successful, coordinated approaches that many of us have been involved in over the years," said Rahall of the Huntington facility as he addressed today's Summit. "These types of projects create real jobs, support economic development in our communities, and create the infrastructure necessary to grow our economy. That's why, as a nation, we need to step it up and realize that infrastructure funding isn't just another spending program--it's an investment in our collective futures."

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