Issue Position: Fixing Our Roads, Bridges, Tunnels and Trains

Issue Position

The American Society for Civil Engineers gives the US a D+ when it comes to our infrastructure. New Jersey would have an even poorer grade. One-third of New Jersey's bridges are considered unsafe for travel, and driving on our deteriorating roads costs drivers an average of $1,951 a year. NJ Transit has the second-worst breakdown record in America and yet, the prices keep going up. Each year, the average commuter in our state spends $605 dollars fixing their cars from pothole damage and $861 dollars sitting in traffic. That's time away from the dinner table with our families, and money out of our pockets.

Right now, because the Hudson Tunnel into New York City is 88 years old and in massive disrepair after Hurricane Sandy, NJ Transit riders face service disruptions and erratic train schedules between Secaucus and Penn Station on the weekends due to track repairs. That simply doesn't make sense in the core economic corridor of our country. We can't attract new residents and businesses to a state where our roads, tunnels and bridges are crumbling.

There are clear economic benefits to improving our infrastructure. Studies have shown that each dollar of infrastructure spending increases the gross state product by two dollars. Moreover, fixing infrastructure helps attract new residents, businesses, and raises property values. Most important, it allows us to go home earlier to see our families and tuck our kids into bed.

Here's what we need to do: we need to bring light rail to Bergen County, build the Gateway Tunnel, invest in rail that goes straight to New York City without stopping in Secaucus, bring new bus and rail service to Sussex and Warren and ease our commute to New York City and within our district. I will push for comprehensive tax reform, including closing loopholes and lowering the corporate tax rate, which will help bring dollars back home. As part of these reforms, we should incentivize companies to bring their dollars sitting overseas back home through a one-time lower tax rate (the 500 largest companies hold more than $2 trillion in assets overseas) and then take that new revenue and allocate it for a new infrastructure bank. The infrastructure bank will invest in new roads, bridges, and tunnels.

Source