Secretary Foxx Talks Funding (and Possibly Tolling)

Yonah Freemark, writing for the Chicago region's Metropolitan Planning Council, spoke with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and asked him about his positions on many issues relevant to transportation funding, some of which Secretary Foxx commented on. Here are some of Secretary Foxx's positions, as revealed in his conversation with Freemark:

• "Foxx did not commit to any specifics on new funding, other than supporting President Obama’s proposal to use business tax reform to fund a $302 billion, four-year transportation bill, which would represent a significant increase over current funding levels."
• Secretary Foxx told Freemark that he is receptive to the idea of tolling our existing Interstate highways: "We would never tell a state or a local project sponsor to toll but that optionality is increasingly becoming something that states are interested in, and we’ll consider finding ways to help when that’s an option that states want to consider.”

At the time of his appointment to the Cabinet, nearly a year ago, many commenters predicted a local focus to Secretary Foxx's tenure.