The U.S. highway trust fund is broke, unaccountable spending undermines long-term strategic priorities, and infrastructure is crumbling. Failure to reform the transportation system risks deepening U.S. dependence on oil, adding to climate change, and eroding economic competitiveness. Waiting to make real improvements only drives up future costs whereas responsible policies can improve transportation and reduce the national deficit today.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has created a leadership initiative to develop a non-partisan solution funding a better transportation system in the United States. Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary for Homeland Security Tom Ridge, and former U.S. Comptroller General and now founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative David Walker led the initiative and recently released their landmark report, Road to Recovery: Transforming America's Transportation, detailing their recommendations for reforming and funding the federal transportation program.
Source: carnegieendowment.org/transportation
Bill Bradley, Tom Ridge, and David Walker detail a non-partisan and politically feasible solution to fix America’s crumbling transportation system that will stabilize gas prices, finance America’s transportation infrastructure, and decrease the deficit.
Senator Bill Bradley is a managing director of Allen & Company LLC. Bradley served in the U.S. Senate from 1979 – 1997, representing the state of New Jersey. He was a senior advisor and vice chairman of the International Council of JP Morgan & Co., Inc. from 1997–1999. During that time, he also worked as an essayist for CBS evening news and was a visiting professor at Stanford University, University of Notre Dame, and the University of Maryland. From 2001–2004, he acted as chief outside advisor to McKinsey & Company’s nonprofit practice.
Tom Ridge is president and CEO of the international consulting firm Ridge Global, headquartered in Washington, DC. He served as the nation’s first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from January 2003 through January 2005, and as the assistant to the president for Homeland Security from October 2001 through December 2002. Previously, he was governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1995 through October 2001 and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 through 1995.
Dave Walker is founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative. He also served as the seventh Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office for almost ten years. This was one of his three presidential appointments each by different presidents from both major political parties during his 15 years of total federal service.
David Burwell is director of the Energy and Climate Program at the Carnegie Endowment. His work focuses on the intersection between energy, transportation and climate issues, and policies and practice reforms to reduce global dependence on fossil fuels.
Shin-pei Tsay is the director of the Leadership Initiative on Transportation Solvency. Prior to joining the Carnegie Endowment, she served as deputy director of Transportation Alternatives, one of the leading non-profit advocacy organizations in the United States, where she provided strategic direction and overall management of the staff and organization.
Carnegie welcomes your comments and feedback on the initiative. Email project staff directly at: transportation@ceip.org