Charleston area officials and business leaders want to see the federal government spend more on infrastructure -- roads, bridges, rail lines, water systems and the like -- saying that America is falling behind other nations, and infrastructure improvements would create jobs.
On Tuesday, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley joined Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and several business executives at the Charleston Maritime Center to press their case in advance of a forum today in Charleston that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will attend.
Rendell is a co-chairman of the bipartisan Building America's Future Educational Fund, the sponsor of today's event.
Riley and Rendell discussed the need for projects such as port dredging.
In Charleston, the dredging is necessary to accommodate larger container ships.
Rendell discussed levees that have failed, bridges that have fallen, gas lines that have ruptured, and the need for America to address infrastructure needs before disasters rather than after them.
"The federal government has been slowly, but surely, ignoring America's infrastructure," Rendell said.
He said the federally built interstate highway system built during the Eisenhower administration was the envy of the world.
Now, Americans return from trips to Europe and Asia marveling at the high-speed rail systems they saw overseas.
Building America's Future wants to see the federal government reauthorize highway funding and create a national infrastructure bank that would evaluate funding needs.
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