Sen. James Inhofe to Keynote ARTBA Conference
Sen. James Inhofe, chairman of the chamber’s transportation policy committee, is scheduled to deliver keynote remarks July 16 at a conference focusing on public-private partnerships hosted by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
Inhofe and other top Republicans have said that a way to pay for big-ticket infrastructure projects is through funding mechanisms, such as public-private partnerships.
The partnerships, known as P3s, are used to finance large or complex projects. The general thinking is that P3s are able to improve freight corridors vital to trucks. Certain P3s, however, rely on tolls that are commonly rejected by the trucking industry.
According to ARTBA, the P3 conference is an ideal forum for the investment community to connect with policymakers and state and local leaders. The conference is at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Inhofe is scheduled to speak at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
Inhofe’s Environment and Public Works panel recently advanced a six-year highway policy measure that would allow states to designate certain public roads as a critical rural freight corridor. The measure also includes provisions designed to improve truck freight movement and increases truck freight efficiencies. On July 13, ARTBA and groups from the transportation sector urged the chairman and other leaders in Congress to advance a multiyear measure before funding authority for highway projects expires July 31.
