ARTBA, APTA launch radio campaign urging lawmakers to fix Highway Trust Fund

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and American Public Transportation Association (APTA) launched the second wave of its radio campaign on Tuesday, telling Congress to fix federal transportation funding and find a permanent solution for the Highway Trust Fund.

The 30-second spot will air on WTOP, Washington, D.C.’s news talk radio station during the morning and afternoon drive times through Thursday. Last week, the two associations targeted radio spots in the home states and districts represented by nine congressional leaders.

Both campaigns precede the May 31 deadline to extend federal surface transportation funding for the federal highway and public transit program. With just weeks to go, congressional leaders are talking about passing another short-term funding patch, adding to the $50 billion in debt that already exists.

“Congress has created so much uncertainty in the marketplace with 32 short-term funding extensions that state transportation departments have little choice but to delay or cancel scheduled highway and transit improvement projects every year,” ARTBA President Pete Ruane said in a written statement to TI News Daily. “This, in turn, jeopardizes private sector jobs and makes capital investment and hiring decisions more risky. It’s time for the House and Senate to complete action on a permanent funding solution for the Highway Trust Fund.”

The latest ad states, in part, “Tell Congress to fix the Highway Trust Fund the right way this time. User fees are fair and they work.”

ARTBA, APTA and other industry allies continue to push Congress to agree on a sustainable funding source for the Highway Trust Fund, and then pivot to pass a multi-year highway and public transit investment bill that gives states and communities the additional resources necessary to improve their infrastructure networks.

The first ads that ran last week were broadcast in the home districts of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR).