U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly renewed his call for bipartisan action on infrastructure, as President Trump announced his plan Monday. Donnelly last week introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that Indiana receives a fair share of federal highway funding. Currently, each state is guaranteed a return of at least 95% of its tax contributions to the Highway Trust Fund. Federal highway programs, however, are no longer exclusively funded by Highway Trust Fund contributions so the 95% guarantee only applies to a portion of the total expenditures. As a result, Indiana receives about 92% in return on its contributions to the Highway Trust Fund. Under this bill, Indiana would receive approximately $24.5 million a year more in federal highway funds. Donnelly also helped pass the bipartisan budget deal last week, which included significant investments in infrastructure, including surface transportation, rural water and waste water, rural broadband, and energy infrastructure.
Donnelly said, “Investing in infrastructure is critical to our communities and Indiana’s economy. I am hopeful that Congress will work in a bipartisan way to develop and pass a comprehensive infrastructure bill that helps improve our roads, airports, transit, waterways, and drinking- and waste-water systems. Together, infrastructure investments can improve our economic competitiveness and efficiency, allowing businesses to move their products to market more quickly, and making it safer and easier for Hoosiers to get to work or take their kids to school.”
