Group president testifies before U.S. House subcommittee

PEORIA — Caterpillar Inc. renewed its call for greater U.S. investment in the nation’s infrastructure earlier this week.



Stu Levick, a Caterpillar group president with responsibility for customer and dealer support, in testimony before a U.S. House committee, called for the development of legislation to fund much-needed surface transportation projects across the nation.



Federal surface transportation funding is set to expire in the United States this September.



“In 2012, Caterpillar exported over $22 billion in products from the United States. Whether the export opportunities are in our hemisphere or on the other side of the world, the goods we seek to sell must travel through a multi-modal transportation system that includes roads, rail, water and air,” said Levenick.



“America needs a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization so that we can begin to rebuild our infrastructure and get back on the road to competitiveness,” he said.



“While other parts of the world are integrating and modernizing their infrastructure to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century, we are failing to act comprehensively and decisively,” said Levenick.



“Our transportation system is the backbone of our economy. However, we are relying on investments made decades ago to sustain our growing and changing economy,” he said.



“As one of America’s leading exporters, we are keenly aware of the importance of exports for both job creation and economic expansion,” said Levenick.



The cry to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure has been made before by Caterpillar.



“Our infrastructure is in tough shape. I don’t have to tell you who drive on the roads every day,” said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, addressing a truck show in Peoria last year.



“For the last 40 years, the United States has spent less and less on infrastructure while countries like China and India are investing more and more,” he said.



“I go to Beijing Airport that’s one of the most modern in the world. I get right through to do my business. Contrast that with JFK airport in New York, which is a national disgrace,” said Oberhelman, referring to occasions when people have to stand in line for hours to go through customs.



Highway construction has fallen off in this country since the 2009 federal stimulus program. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, highway spending in the first eight months of 2013 was a little more than $50 billion, down 3.3 percent compared with the same period the previous year.



In recent days, infrastructure has become a talking point in Washington, D.C., with some members of Congress beginning to talk about specific proposals to shore up the federal Highway Trust Fund, which has been teetering on the edge of insolvency for years, noted Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.



The fund pays for federal highway and transit aid, as well as many transportation safety programs. It’s funded primarily through federal gas and diesel taxes, but revenues haven’t kept pace with transportation needs. Without congressional action, the fund could start “bouncing checks” as soon as August, the secretary said in a speech in Washington earlier this week.



Foxx talks about an “infrastructure deficit,” with 100,000 bridges across the nation that are old enough for Medicare. A recent global ranking put the United States’ infrastructure in 25th place, just behind Barbados.







Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or starter@pjstar.com. Follow his blog, Minding Business, on pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @SteveTarter.



The Associated Press contributed to this story.



