New York, NY (Top40 Charts) At the end of October, the Highway
Trust Fund will run out of money. It provides funding for road, bridge, and mass transit projects across the country, but its revenue source, the federal gas tax, has not been raised in over two decades. Congress has relied on stopgap measures to keep it funded for years, causing uncertainty and delays in state projects. Should lawmakers raise the federal gas tax, or should we rethink federal government's role in infrastructure spending? On Tuesday, October 27, Intelligence Squared U.S. will address these questions with a live debate on the motion "Raise the Federal Gas Tax to Fund Infrastructure."
Arguing for the motion are the Executive
Director of Colorado's Department of Transportation, and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association's chief economist. Arguing against are a former member of Congress's
National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, and the Heritage Foundation's Stephen Moore, a former Wall Street Journal board member.
The debate will be held at New York's Kaufman Center and stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast "Intelligence Squared U.S."
WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Raise the Federal Gas Tax to Fund Infrastructure"
WHEN: Tue, October 27, 2015 / Reception 5:45-6:30 / Debate 6:45-8:15 PM
WHERE: Kaufman Center/129 W. 67th Street (bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)/New York, NY 10023
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/
Arguing for the motion:
* Shailen Bhatt: Executive Director, Colorado Dept. of Transportation
Shailen Bhatt was recently appointed as the executive director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), where he is charged with leading the Department in planning for and addressing Colorado's transportation needs. Bhatt oversees 3,000 employees statewide and an annual budget of approximately $1.2 billion to guide CDOT in providing the best multi-modal transportation system for Colorado. Prior to this appointment, he served as the cabinet secretary for the Delaware Department of Transportation and as an associate administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Bhatt also serves on the board of directors for the American Association of
State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and chairs the AASHTO Subcommittee on Transportation Systems Management and Operation (STSMO).
* Alison Premo Black: Sr. VP & Chief Economist, American Road & Transportation Builders Association
Alison Premo
Black joined the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) in August 2000. In addition to serving as senior vice president and chief economist for ARTBA, she is deputy managing director of the Contractors Division and manages the Transportation Investment Advocacy Center program.
Black manages ARTBA's economics staff and is responsible for over 70 studies examining national and state transportation funding and investment patterns, including the association's landmark economic profile of the transportation construction industry, state bridge condition profiles, and annual modal forecast.
Black also oversees ARTBA's contractor chapter relations and membership development activities.
Arguing against the motion:
* Adrian Moore: VP of Policy, Reason Foundation
Adrian Moore is vice president of policy at Reason Foundation, where he leads policy implementation efforts and conducts his own research on topics such as privatization, government and regulatory reform, transportation, and utilities. He regularly advises federal, state, and local officials on ways to streamline government and reduce costs. Moore served on Congress's
National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and, since 2009, has served on California's Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission. The coauthor of several books and dozens of policy studies, Moore has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times,Economic Affairs, and numerous other publications.
* Stephen Moore: Distinguished Visiting Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Stephen Moore, who formerly wrote on the economy and public policy for The Wall Street Journal, is the distinguished visiting fellow for the Project for Economic Growth at the Heritage Foundation. Moore, who also was a member of the Journal's editorial board, returned to Heritage in January 2014, about 25 years after his tenure as the Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Budgetary Affairs. His current work focuses on advancing public policies that increase the rate of economic growth to help the U.S. retain its position as the global economic superpower. He also works on budget, fiscal, and monetary policy and showcases states that get fiscal houses in order.
ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)
A non-partisan, nonprofit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to restore civility, reasoned analysis and constructive public discourse to today's often biased media landscape. IQ2US reaches millions through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts and interactive digital content. It is one of the top 25 most popular podcasts on iTunes, and has won the 2014 Clarion Award for
Radio Regular Feature Program and three consecutive 2013-2015 New York Festivals International
Radio Awards for Best Public Affairs Program. The debates have attracted some of the world's top thinkers, including Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Forbes, Dr. Neal Barnard, Arianna Huffington, Paul Krugman, and Karl Rove. With over 100 debates and counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008. The executive producer is Dana Wolfe.
