As summer comes to an end and Congress prepares to head back to Washington, D.C., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is continuing to urge lawmakers to pass a comprehensive infrastructure bill this year and save Americans money and time on the roads.
“As millions of Americans travel this Labor Day, they will be faced with terrible congestion, potholes that damage their cars, roadwork, and accidents,” said Ed Mortimer, vice president of transportation and infrastructure, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“Sadly, this is the reality every day for American drivers across the country, and the longer we wait for federal legislation to fix our crumbling infrastructure, the worse the state of our roads, bridges, and highways will become, and the more Americans will have to pay.”
American families deal with the state of our crumbling infrastructure in their day-to-day lives and face major roadblocks every year. In fact,
- Americans lose $1,000 a year in wasted fuel costs due to congestion.
- Families lose an additional $600 a year due to car damage caused by poor infrastructure.
- The average American loses 54 hours stuck in traffic each year.
“We need Congress and the president to move past the current dysfunction and agree on federal legislation to modernize and fix our nation’s infrastructure, Mortimer said. “The cost of inaction costs more than action. We can’t afford to wait.”