own what was important for them. crmp span opened the door for washington policy making and bringing you kept from congress and beyond. in the age of power to the people. in the 0 years since, the landscape has changed. there is no media, broadcasting has given way to narrowcasting, crmp span's idea is more real vapt. no government money supports crmp span and it is funded as a public service. on television and online, crmp span is your unfillered view of government so you can make up your own mind. in terms of lobbying, we have a

washington office. we lobby on policy and programs, the issues we focus on are infrastructure related, transportation, environment and water. >> when you hear this discussion of a package, what goes through your mind and what are those questions that need to be answered? guest: it's good to hear a $2 trillion number been bandied about because those are within the contours of the economic studies we have done. period, thear infrastructure grid -- the

infrastructure gap is about $2 trillion over 10 years so that is about $200 billion a year. when you look at the number, about half of that is in the transportation. transportation is an aspect many people feel every day. host: back in 2017 you put out your last report card. guest: the overall grade for the nationstate was a d+. if you go back to 2009, the grade was a d so there has been inching up. some you can point to the states who have taken legislative actions. specifically let me mention the gas tax on the state level. half the states have raised their gas tax in the last five years, red and blue. specifically the transportation sector. d, bridges or a c

plus. mass transit is a d-, the worst grade on the report card. so when it comes to those grades you give, why the consistence even if there is a bit of an uptake, why are we seeing this? guest: underinvestment has been the biggest issue in the country as the aspect the way they have. the other thing within for structure projects as it can take a number of years to get through the approval process. years, itn of four takes a while for it to be safe. >> if the states get money backs -- get money back, where is the state -- the shortfall coming from? guest: the federal government hasn't touched the gas tax for

25 years. living off a 1993 federal gas tax. people think about the price of gas out there in this country. i know it is spiking a little bit. just $.18 of that is going from the federal level to support infrastructure. the typical state gas tax, about $.29 a gallon. people need to understand we are paying a hidden tax in the country because of the current level of underinvestment. the average family is losing $3400 a year, nine dollars a day because of underinvestment in infrastructure. it takes longer for them to get there as being stuck in traffic. we lose the typical average driver in this country is losing 42 hours a week per year stuck in traffic. that's like losing a vacation while being stuck in traffic. host: our guest with us to talk about this infrastructure in

light of these discussions of $2 trillion for an infrastructure package. 202-748-8000 free democrats, 202-748-8001 for republicans. independents 202-748-8002 and you can also make your thoughts on our twitter feed at c-span wj. you are proposing a raise of the gas tax. to what degree? >> we would support up to $.25 a gallon. you can faze that in a nickel a year over several years. cost theincrease would average motorist when he four dollars a year. mentioned the cost for families. $4are at risk of losing trillion by 2025 in gdp. thisther thing to say is is a bipartisan issue for decades and we would like to see it continue that way.

increases inn see the gas tax under republican presidential leadership. 41.er, eisenhower, bush all had gas tax increases and mr. trump said last year he was going to consider a $.25 a gallon tax increase. host: would it alleviate the roads? we had a lot of callers saying i still have potholes and we are still hitting tax for these things. five: right now, one in road miles is considered in poor condition and those are costing motors 100 to anyone billion dollars a year so the average motorist is losing $4500 a year because of road conditions. host: if the state gets money from the gas tax to they have to use it specifically for transportation. guest: transportation specifically and about 1/5 of it or 20% can be used for mass transit projects.

people have to look at these as complementary systems. mass transit can be helpful in allowing that to perform well. host: a state gets it, it has to be used and can't be shuffled into another fund. guest: you should have tight legislative language saying this money cannot be funneled to a different purpose. the harbor maintenance trust users of the harbors pay a fee into a trust fund, that is being allowed to build up and not expended properly. we have at that case an issue with the trust fund. host: it really depends on the state. guest: citizens and legislators have to be vigilant in making sure there are provisions to say none of these dollars can be diverted to non-infrastructure. ast: what about this idea of

vehicle or miles traveled tax? guest: very interested in that. the way of the future. we have a fairly low percentage, if you look at the entire fleet. the gas tax is probably the way to go over the next five or 10 years. we think about the future and the way cars are powered, we will have to look for a way to see how they drive. and less concerned about how their cars are powered. us, theiry joining senior managing director and we have our first call from ohio. this is todd, independent line. go ahead. caller: you said your name is casey, correct? guest: yes. decision'm making my on who i vote for president based on who has the best infrastructure repair and update plans and i wanted to ask you, in your individual opinion, if

you use new york city subway, what would it look like in a brief description if it were to get an a in your opinion? one was about the presidential, it still too early in terms of the planning phase to know who has the best plan. we have the democratic leaders on the hill and president trump trying to work on a bipartisan fashion. i'm not sure it would be particularly helpful to train handicap one or the other in terms of the election. i've use the subway system a number of times over the years. it definitely needs a lot of investment. it's one of the older systems. host: i think he was try to say what would something look like to get an a grade in your mind? guest: what i can give you is the grading scale from the report and the definition. exceptional, fit for the future.

the infrastructure and the system network is in excellent condition. typically new or recently rehabilitated. elements show sign of general deterioration or requires attention. facilities need modern standards for functionality and are resilient to withstand most severe weather events. host: so for light rail or train, nothing achieves that in the united states currently. guest: if you have a brand-new system. i'm not sure of the most recent command -- mass transit system put in place. a funding gap on mass transit across the country. host: democrats line -- let's go to judy in minneapolis. independent line. caller: this is judy. hard ona is working raising the gas taxes right now.

hope they are building it for the future. severe weather all over the minnesota,es, texas, from new york to california. we can see the severe weather. an already old infrastructure. ismy opinion, my question donald trump traced all over this country, you call us the flyover states. we drive. my point is when donald trump is landing in the hell it -- the helicopter in iowa and promising he would like to buy some land there. host: what is the specific question for our guest? what we got is a tax cut for the rich. infrastructure should have been broughtt bill that was

out into congress. to get financing for infrastructure to raise jobs. what't want to hear about people might make too much money, the average person working. we need infrastructure. host: thank you. guest: i support the comment that it would've been nice if that was the first thing with the new administration. it wasn't. this is the hand we have been dealt with so it is an issue now. a pressing issue. having presidential leadership is very important. host: you talked about electric vehicles. a viewer says they draw a large amount of electric power charging stations, why don't we tax that? guest: that is something you can do or we can look at registration fees. there are a number of ways to look at that. one thing about the gas tax is very easy to implement roman administration standpoint.

in terms of getting into a vehicle miles traveled approach, a bit more challenging. adding in one more comment about technology there is a lot with driverless car's, connected and autonomous vehicles. this is a very interesting scenario. we are still growing as a population. still growing at 1%. we get another 100 million people in the next 30 years. we have to add wider roadways and in some cases we may, but these technologies may allow us to more safely and efficiently move cars around because of the safety technology. you can reduce the number of perhaps we could squeeze five lanes of cars into four in the future. they do offer a part of the way out. is the cost going to be for upkeep of those roads? guest: i don't have those

figures yet. i know there is a lot of research going on in terms of which technologies on the cars will be communicating with themselves. communication between the roadways in the cars. line forublican massachusetts. ronald. caller: good morning. this is ronald from roxbury, massachusetts. i'm an engineer by trade. host: you are on, go ahead. caller: where you going to get the money from? it looked like the wars going to start with a ran. where -- with iran. where you going to get the $21 trillion? host: that's $2 trillion. guest: it is $2 trillion over 10 years. we are talking about increasing infrastructure investment by two bill -- $200 billion a year.

that's not just federal. that state, local and public-private. maybe not to the extent some would like to see. we have this gap of $200 billion a year. that is one percentage point of gdp we are talking about when you think of $21 trillion u.s. economy. you go backvest and decades ago closer to 3% to 4% on infrastructure and that is slipped down closer to 2% so we are try to get that back up. it is not an easy challenge but it is a doable challenge in the united states has met a number of infrastructure challenges before in the united states. it is often with republican presidents you will see an increase in the gas tax. mark inmark -- host: virginia, independent line. i don't think anybody would disagree in theory, we are way behind in infrastructure.

we are way behind in renewable energy. but talking about infrastructure. you are throwing different numbers out which i agree if you look at it per person as far as the population of the united states, as far as parsing out the 25% gasoline tax. then you mentioned something that is really a pet peeve. you've got a perfect trifecta. mentionedup, you increasing the federal tax, you talked about how the individual states increasing their tax and than the worst of the worst is when you talk about public-private partnership, a.k.a. the e-zpass, people coming in for investment. these states, like here in virginia, they signed one of the worst deals ever where these

people can actually go up on the tolls in perpetuity with no lease attached to them. trillion, who is going to follow that money to the point where it just doesn't friends ofenzy of the politicians getting the bulk share of the actual construction money and then dealing with public partnerships that are going to put the american public basically at hostage of being able to continue to charge unlimited amount of toll fees and charges. you've got a lot there. concerned about the price of gas and taxes, you are already paying a nine dollar a day hidden tax at the current state of the nation's infrastructures we are suggesting an investment of three dollars per day to

eliminate that drag on the u.s. family. just think what a family can do without money, start a college fund, do a home project, a home computer and iphone. these are not small amounts of of thend in terms prioritization of projects, i have to have enough faith in the different levels of government to know in terms of their communities where the highest priority project needs to be addressed. host: concerns of public-private partnerships. used inhey are a tool other parts of the world, more in the united states it is still catching on. the advantages of a public-private partnership can be, you have to put them together. you can have a lot of money frontloaded in the system that might be hard for the public sector to come up with to get something going and then since you have an entity running this

they will want a payback over time. so the advantages you can get something -- the advantage is you can get something going. perhaps a more nimbleness or discipline to get these done on time. then you are right. time, theeriod of private entity will be collecting the tolls and then reinvesting those moneys into the toll system and taking a bit for profit. that is what happens when you get the private sector involved. that's the potential advantage. host: toll roads came up at a discussion in baltimore, beltway on a proposed toll. protesters fighting against those, the governor put out a tweet in response saying pro-traffic activists show no regard for the hundreds of thousands stuck in traffic every day.

they have no real ideas to solve the crisis that is hurting the quality of life in the region. think of the larger issue of toll roads? guest: in this region there have been a lot of interesting developments on the virginia side we have a number of hot lanes added to the beltway, to interstate 95 and interstate 66. people don't like paying tolls but in some cases they have created lane options for people to use. it may take longer to make the trip but the option of using a faster lane, i really have to get to the soccer game on time or the business meeting on time. congestion tolls. they will vary depending on what the traffic is on the free lands so once you see that toll is $10 to go 10 miles, that's a signal

the free lanes will take you a long time to get somewhere. it creates an option for people. but it is an expense. host: new york is next in oceanside, republican line. ian. caller: good morning everybody. we obviously -- president trump said six set -- $6 trillion, $7 trillion spent overseas. $200 billion, 10 years. we need to. what i would like to get is the democrats remember he is an illegitimate president, resist, resist, russia, now nadler is going after him yet they want to work with him. is he a nazi, is he a racist, it would be nice to get an apology for the start to work with president trump because they keep doing this and here they are willing to work with this man. is he a good man or a nazi you are going to work with? let's get that straight and apologized to the president. host: gotcha, ian.

curious discussions about the topic of infrastructure. what you take away from that? guest: whenever you spend $1 trillion or $2 trillion there will be a discussion so this is part of the process. the meeting they had, i think it's two weeks from now we should see something out of the white house in terms of funding ideas and let's keep going forward on this. to letoo big of an issue personalities and other issues get in the way. host: colorado, democrats line. caller: hello. i would just like to know why the democrats are trying to destroy the united states? trump has done a lot better than most of our democratic people have, even the republicans. host: we are talking about infrastructure, what is your question and comment. caller: infrastructure needs to be worked on and the democrats

need to stop spending all these to run him trying down. they could put it into the infrastructure. it would help. host: thank you. we saw the previous administration put a considerable sum on shovel ready projects. a quick comment on that. talking about the recovery act early on in the obama administration. that was about $900 billion, a very small slice of that was for infrastructure and maybe 100 billion. so one in eight of those dollars went to infrastructure. there was a misunderstanding i think the public had that that was all infrastructure. it was really quite small. shovel ready. i can understand the president's position at that time that the economy was so unstable and keeping people at work was his priority so i think that was the

focus. i think we can get away from that now. unemployment has been taking down. in the -- taking -- ticking down , except in construction. . host: thomas from texas, republican line. caller: how is it going? overseas lately and seen the systems of infrastructure, they are building everything on time. we need better training for our kids. houston, i'mere in doing roofing again because we can't find anybody to work. we need some training really. the money is there. if you read the report on afghanistan, we are -- trillions.

host: i apologize thomas. we hear comparisons when it comes to other countries and how they compare. comparisons,those what's a legitimacy or what would you say? guest: they are further along on the public-private partnership approach then we are in this country and the other thing i would say. some people don't like hearing it, but they tax gasoline at a much higher rate than we do. even if we were to raise our gas tax by $.25 a gallon it would be far cheaper than it is in western europe and competing nations. carolina,ld in north democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: i would like to make a quick comment about the infrastructure funding.

i wonder if it could involve tracking a way of mileage regardless of whether they are hydrocarbon or electric. i feel woman get our tax or registration on these vehicles, they should record the mileage at that time on your registration certificate, that way next year when you renew your registration, you would see exactly how many miles it was ,riven and contacts accordingly except a fair tax against electric would not matter. guest: that's a good idea. this conversation goes forward, what are you looking forward to, what you paying attention to? we are looking two weeks out and see what the administration has in advance of

that and what may be happening behind the scenes indicating they are making progress. the: casey serves as managing director. if you'd like to see the reports he referenced and some other reporting, go to asce here is what is coming up tonight on c-span. next, a focus on voting rights issues. after that, tiger woods receives the metal of freedom from dal ofent trump -- me freedom from president trump. then, competing interests with china and russia, leaders from thedal of freedom from president trump. navy, coast guard, and maritime administration talk about the current state and future of u.s. military and reserve readiness. sunday on q&a,

journalist and author david marinus and his new book captures the fear and paranoia of the red scare during the 1950's. it is the story of his own sunday at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. the nationalxt, urban league releases its 2019 state of black america report with the focus on voting rights issues. late president mark morial reviews the report and then journalists and reporters talk about the findings and talk about legislative initiatives. [applause] so, ladies and gentlemen, let's get to the heart of the matter. are you ready? over the last 10 years, the right to vote