Former Minnesota Congressman Martin Sabo Advocates for Federal Transportation Policy Reform at Minneapolis Forum

The Bipartisan Policy Center's (BPC) National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) held a public forum today in Minneapolis, Minnesota to discuss their blueprint for surface transportation reform, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy, and its implications for the Twin Cities region. The forum, featured as part of the Martin Olav Sabo Lecture Series, held in partnership with the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, attracted prominent local transportation policymakers, academics, business leaders and other key transportation stakeholders. Participants at today's event agreed that current national transportation policy fails to recognize and reward innovation, and as a result there are insufficient funds to adequately maintain existing infrastructure. "Metropolitan regions like the Twin Cities bear the burden of misallocated investments," said NTPP Co-Chair and former Congressman Martin Sabo. "The structure of current federal funding makes it challenging for metropolitan regions to use federal money to solve their transportation problems. Revenue collection should be linked to use and impacts, and the trend toward financing federal transportation investments with non-user based, general funds should not be maintained. The Twin Cities would benefit greatly from a reformed funding structure based on performance and outcomes." Full release.