On The Move
Congressman Clyburn Calls for Reauthorization of Highway Bill
Aug 31, 2010
Bill would be Paid for with Securities Transaction Fee
COLUMBIA, SC - August 31, 2010 - Sixth District Congressman and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn today called on his colleagues in Congress to reauthorize the federal transportation bill before the November election. Congressman Clyburn announced his support for H.R. 4191, the “Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act,” which would pay for the $500 billion, five-year transportation bill with a securities transaction fee of ¼ of one percent (.25%).
“Taxpayers bailed out Wall Street, which is back to business as usual, even paying out exorbitant bonuses. I believe it is time to have Wall Street pay back the taxpayers,” Congressman Clyburn said. “We shouldn’t fund a transportation bill by asking people to pay more at the gas pump, so I am asking that Wall Street repay main street.”
H.R. 4191 would assess a small securities transaction fee on:
- Stock transactions
- Credit default swaps
- Futures contracts to buy or sell a specified commodity; and Options, which are contracts between a buyer and seller that gives the buyer the right but not the obligation, to buy or to sell a particular asset on or before the option’s expiration time, at an agreed price
Economists estimate the new securities transaction fee would raise $100 billion annually, which would be used to pay for the transportation reauthorization, and still have enough remaining to put half of the revenue toward deficit reduction.
“This legislation will not only help us repair our aging roads and bridges, it will also be a job creator and reduce the deficit,” Congressman Clyburn concluded. “To me, it is a no-brainer.”
For every $1 billion the federal government invests in infrastructure – roads, bridges, water and sewer – 43,000 American jobs are created that cannot be exported.
In South Carolina, 27 percent of our major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Twenty-two percent of our state’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Driving on roads and bridges in need of repair costs motorists in our state $811 million per year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs. That amounts to $255 per South Carolina motorist.
Congressman Clyburn today joined with representatives from the Associated General Contractors of America, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Transportation Mobility, and the Transportation Construction Coalition in calling for Congress to act this year on a federal transportation bill.
