Facing a national transportation budget crisis, some elected leaders are using a Virginia transportation-funding compromise as an example for Congress to take action.
The Highway Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent this year, and addressing that challenge was a major topic at this year's National Lieutenant Governor's Association meeting. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam co-sponsored a resolution calling on Congress to allocate revenues to restore the trust fund and develop a “long term vision” for transportation. Northam calls this a crisis and says when states build roads and rail they use both federal and state dollars.
Northam says he's already begun talking to Virginia's Congressional delegation about it, and the other Lieutenant Governors are expected to have the same discussions with their federal lawmakers.