We are well into the 21st century, but American transportation is still rooted firmly in the 20th. We are still traveling and commuting via infrastructure that was largely designed in 1956.

Failure to invest in our highways, transit and rail infrastructure threatens our ability to compete in the global economy. At the same time our infrastructure is crumbling, America is experiencing an employment crisis unlike any in the last 70 years. Investing in American-made cleaner vehicles, roads, bridges, tunnels, rail, transit and better biking and walking can create millions of jobs in infrastructure, manufacturing and operations.

Right now, the U.S. sends an estimated $1 billion a day overseas for imported oil. Overall, transportation accounts for two thirds of our oil consumption and a third of greenhouse gas pollution. We need cleaner, safer, more efficient transportation to create a 21st century transportation system that assures America continues to lead the global economy, reduces pollution and our dependence on foreign oil, and creates new jobs and opportunity for workers across the nation.

The BlueGreen Alliance is calling for a national transportation plan that includes the principles below. We have also developed specific policy proposals that will maximize job growth in our Clean Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan report.

A forward-looking, comprehensive transportation policy must:

Modernize Transportation Infrastructure and Increase Efficiency

Maintenance and repair alone - while desperately needed - will not optimize efficiency or provide the energy savings we need. We must modernize our highway, rail and transit networks and ensure they are safe, in good repair, and more efficient.

Make Our Transportation Networks Greener

Our transportation sector accounts for one third of US greenhouse gas emissions. Investing in transit, rail, high-speed rail, and biking and walking infrastructure will reduce congestion while saving oil and time.

Support Flexibility for Transit Operating Assistance

Transportation investments should support day-to-day transit operations to preserve and create quality jobs, ensure millions of working Americans are able to get to work affordably and reliably, and reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil.

Build Cleaner Cars and Trucks Here In America

By developing and producing advanced fuel-saving technologies in the U.S., automakers and the domestic auto supply chain can create quality jobs and supply the efficient cars and light trucks demanded in the marketplace.

Support Cleaner Ports and Freight

Eighty-seven million Americans live and work near ports that violate federal air quality standards, resulting in much higher rates and risk of asthma, cancer and respiratory illnesses. We need to empower, but not mandate, local ports to adopt requirements for motor carriers and vehicles that are reasonably related to the reduction of environmental pollution, traffic congestion, improving highway safety, and the efficient utilization of port facilities.

Create Quality U.S. Jobs In Transportation

From seats to windows to doors to motor coaches to train cars, the manufacture of vehicles and parts represent important supply chains across the nation. We should ensure that domestic sourcing provisions are included in the transportation reauthorization bill and other infrastructure policies as recommended in our Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan.

America has several opportunities to move our transportation systems into the 21st century. The most pressing is the need for a long-term, fully-funded transportation reauthorization, which directs the bulk of federal transportation investments. In addition, Congress and the Obama Administration are currently working on a number of initiatives, such as vehicle fuel efficiency standards, advanced vehicle and battery development and manufacturing, and a host of rail, freight, port and sustainable community endeavors to modernize American transportation. We need networks with the capacity to meet the demands of an economy that is increasingly dependent upon "just in time" delivery and ones that can also move people and goods more efficiently, while simultaneously increasing our energy independence.