White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu Seeks State Assistance in Implementing the Federal Infrastructure Law
In a recent letter to state governors, White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu urged governors to appoint high-level representatives within their states to drive the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The letter also points to more guidance expected to be issued later this month.
The IBTTA government affairs team is working to ensure awareness of this request and asking the IBTTA community to lend its voice with the states to ensure the selection of representatives that will advocate effectively for tolling and road pricing to be elements of state infrastructure investment plans. To the extent possible, we suggest IBTTA members work with their state executive branch and departments of transportation to communicate the importance of selecting state representatives who understand how future transportation investments are dependent on operational and planned toll facilities/programs. The most effective representatives would bring insights and expertise into how tolling and road pricing have been used to augment federal investment dollars and optimize infrastructure investment capacity. For instance, states that have leveraged tolling and other transportation user fees as a part of their infrastructure investment plans have demonstrated effectiveness in project finance, private equity contributions, financial oversight, new technology deployment, innovative business practices, customer value, equity, climate change, resilience and environmental justice.
The White House initiative is designed to replicate the successes cited in federal coordination with the states during the rollout of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA) in 2009. The idea is to have a central point of coordination that the federal Infrastructure Implementation Task Force can work with to tap state budget departments and agencies responsible for transportation, water, broadband and energy infrastructure investments. These state resources will be used to help craft federal implementation guidelines and requirements, and to escalate state and local issues rapidly for resolution as the federal programs are established.
IBTTA urges its members to work with their state officials and agencies to ensure that the expertise and proven track record of the IBTTA community in advancing effective and successful infrastructure investment programs is reflected in future federal implementation guidelines and requirements.
Please contact IBTTA’s Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Mark Muriello ([email protected]) if you have any questions or to tell us how IBTTA can augment your outreach efforts. Together we can ensure that our industry’s issues and concerns are well represented as state-level coordination is planned for the federal infrastructure investment programs.