Jim Burnley, a Venable partner and former Secretary of Transportation under President Reagan, provided perspective on the state of the nation’s highway infrastructure in a December 30, 2008 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story about Pennsylvania’s state-wide infrastructure problems.
The nation's Highway Trust Fund has "basically collapsed," Burnley. "Because Americans have started driving less and buying more fuel-efficient cars, the Highway Trust Fund, supported by fuel taxes, does not have enough revenue coming in," he said.