Mitch Daniels Talks Infrastructure On Capitol Hill

Purdue President and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Thursday.  The discussion was focused on America’s aging infrastructure and Indiana was highlighted as a model for improving and expanding crossroads.

In 2005, Daniels brokered the Major Moves deal, leasing the Indiana Toll Road for $3.8 billion for 75 years.  He says the public-private partnership was high point of his term.

"It was a great joy of public service to watch literally the dreams of decades, become real.  Project after project of people saying 'that’ll never happen' are in being in Indiana," Daniels said.

Through Major Moves, more than 100 new highway projects have been funded in Indiana during the last decade.  But Daniels says during that time, federal regulations that hamper the process of improving the nations infrastructure have only gotten worse. 

"It’s so ironic that this nation, which prides itself on being such an innovation leader is such a laggard in this area," said Daniels.

Spending existing dollars more effectively, cutting red tape and promoting private investment were topics of discussion during the hearing.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report ranked the quality of raods in the U.S. 20th in the world.

This week the U.S. Senate introduced a bill that would increase federal highway funding by 13 percent for the next six years.