Last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) held its first hearing of the 116th Congress, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation’s Infrastructure Cannot Wait.” New Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has long-awaited this opportunity and has wasted no time making his point to the public, and the Administration, that Americans need infrastructure investment now. Chairman DeFazio was joined by Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) who echoed a similar sentiment. See our live tweets from the hearing at @SUN_CTAA.

DeFazio began his opening remarks by noting the fact the Committee’s rooted in bipartisanship; highlighting his relationship with Ranking Member Graves, among the Committee members and the inherent unity of the issue. The bulk of the remarks were centered around DeFazio’s thoughts on ways to increase funding for the Highway Trust Fund. He believes the need is urgent and the most immediate solution would be to increase the federal gas tax. He stated, “Gas and diesel taxes that fuel the Highway Trust Fund have been stagnant for 25 years, causing purchasing power for road, bridge, and transit projects to fall by over 40 percent.” He’s been a long-time proponent of increasing the federal gas tax and will likely include a similar provision in a larger infrastructure package that is expected later this year. He mentioned that many Members are worried that voting in support of this proposed increase will cost them their job, however DeFazio reminded them that several of their colleagues had run on, and been elected, from communities that had raised local or state gas taxes.

Graves spoke next, offering opening remarks that also highlighted the bipartisanship nature of infrastructure and the opportunity to work with the Administration. “It’s rare that the stars align on issues,” said Graves, emphasizing the support infrastructure investment has across the aisle and with the President.

Upon the conclusion of opening remarks, DeFazio spoke again, firing off data to legitimize his call for investment. He discussed the costs of inaction; how increased costs are associated with maintenance projects that are completed later than needed. “Inaction has serious consequences and the cost of delay is high,” said DeFazio. He gave the example of the Hudson River rail tunnels, and how their failure would cost the U.S. economy $100 million a day. He also discussed traffic congestion and how it’ll only get worse with time, stating it will be a daily occurrence for 60 percent of the U.S. population within a decade.