July 27, 2015
TO MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports invoking cloture on consideration of H.R. 22,
the DRIVE Act, which is a long-overdue, long-term reauthorization of the federal highway,
transit, and transportation safety program, in order to ensure this program does not expire Friday.
The Chamber believes that in order to be competitive in the global marketplace and grow
jobs in America, increased investment in transportation is crucial. Roads, bridges, and transit
systems have proven to be unsustainable under continuous short-term extensions. Without longterm certainty, businesses cannot plan for hiring or capital expenditures; land, labor, and capital
are more expensive as the time value of money increases project costs; projects that need multiyear funding commitments are delayed; and opportunities for economic development and
economic growth are lost. The Senate’s six-year reauthorization bill provides states and local
governments the ability to plan for and deliver large-scale, multi-year projects important to
business.
The Chamber urges the Senate to wrap up work on long-term legislation reauthorizing
the federal highway, transit, and transportation program in a timely manner so that the House
could act on it before the program expires Friday. The Chamber will consider including votes
on, or in relation to, this measure – including the vote on cloture – in our annual How They
Voted scorecard.
Sincerely,
R. Bruce Josten