The National Retail Federation today issued the following statement from Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French in response to a House committee hearing on transportation infrastructure. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg provided testimony on behalf of the Biden Administration.

“The retail industry relies on our nation’s transportation infrastructure to move billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise every day to warehouses, distribution centers and stores and ultimately to consumers’ front doors. A healthy and efficient infrastructure system supports economic development and growth in our local communities. Businesses of all sizes depend on this essential framework to deliver goods safely and fastidiously to their customers.

“We ask Congress to focus its consideration on policies that improve and elevate our transportation infrastructure. Our national infrastructure priorities have fallen victim to politics time and again. This Congress has an opportunity to set aside goals that have nothing to do with transportation policy and set our economy on a road to growth.”

Last week, NRF sent a letter to members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee outlining the retail industry’s infrastructure priorities for the committee to consider as it begins to work on an infrastructure package.