WASHINGTON:The challenge of maintaining adequate investment in the nation’s infrastructure, particularly its highways, is likely the most talked about issue among business owners because it is so crucial to their success, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official told local business and government leaders’ in Eau Claire.
Of all the political issues businesses are concerned about, the one that gets the most attention these days’ centers around one of the most basic requirements of commerce: how to get people and products from Point A to Point B.As a result, it was one of the key issues highlighted during a Washington, D.C., update by John Kirchner, manager of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Chamber’s Midwest region, as part of the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs & Issues series.
Kirchner expressed frustration that Congress keeps “kicking the can down the road” by passing temporary measures instead of approving a permanent way of funding highway construction. Congress passed the latest stop-gap measure to keep the Federal Highway Trust Fund from going broke earlier this month, paving the road for yet another debate on shoring up the trust fund this fall.
The Des Moines Register reported last month that Congress has resorted to short-term patches to keep the trust fund solvent 33 times in the past six years.As with many issues, Kirchner said, the sticking point has less to do with agreeing on the need than on how to pay for it.
