Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

Few topics generate as much passion in the Charlotte region as traffic.

Years of explosive growth and decades of neglect by Raleigh have created the perfect storm. Each year, the respected Texas Transportation Institute finds Charlotte has some of the worst congestion in the Nation.

Well-meaning lawmakers have made the problem worse by securing appropriations for special projects, inadvertently robbing higher-priority projects of funding and circumventing the carefully-made plans of local transportation leaders.

As a United States Congressman, I have very little direct involvement in local transportation decisions. However, as transportation-related bills come before the House of Representatives, I will be guided by these principles:

Widening and improving major road systems should receive priority, as they are used by far more commuters and generate significant economic growth.
Mass transit is important, but better suited for densely-populated, compact urban areas.
Many highway projects languish for years as local authorities wrestle with mind-boggling government red tape. Unnecessary regulations should be lifted to allow for more efficiency in planning and building transportation improvements.

Because fixing our crumbling infrastructure is a priority, I've worked with Congressman John Delaney (D-MD) to introduce the Partnership to Build America Act (H.R. 2084), which provides private business with incentives to invest in infrastructure bonds. By leveraging private dollars through the bond market, we can speed up critical infrastructure projects and create new jobs.

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is critical to our region's continued economic success, and the airport's new inter-modal facility will generate tens of thousands of new jobs. Supporting the airport and the inter-modal facility are top priorities, including securing funding for interstate widening, new roads, and other infrastructure improvements to support the continued growth of these facilities.

Inefficient transportation is not only frustrating, but harmful to job growth and the economy. As your Congressman, I will support common-sense legislation to improve our crumbling infrastructure, grow our economy through support of the airport, and wisely invest our limited transportation dollars.

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