President Trump Meets with Democratic Leaders to Discuss Infrastructure

On April 30, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) met with President Trump at the White House to discuss infrastructure. Apparently, both sides agreed to spend $2 trillion to fix the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. But the big question that was not answered was how to pay for it.

In advance of the meeting, Schumer said that he wouldn’t consider raising the gas tax unless President Trump were to agree to repeal parts of the 2017 tax overhaul legislation. This is a non-starter with the GOP. President Trump hasn’t publicly backed a gas tax increase, but he has said that he would be open to a gas tax increase of up to 25 cents per gallon behind closed doors. PMAA has argued that all vehicle owners and operators, no matter what fuel type they choose, including electric vehicles, should pay their fair share for road maintenance and repair.

In other infrastructure news, NATSO, PMAA and like-minded associations sent a letter to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Tuesday to oppose efforts to commercialize Interstate rest areas as they consider infrastructure legislation this year. In the letter, the groups said that while they understand the budget challenges that many states face and the need for more infrastructure revenue, proposals that would allow the private sector to operate interstate rest areas are counter-productive. The letter underscores the negative affect that commercial rest areas would have on small businesses located off interstate highways.

Click here to read the letter.