The Washington, D.C. lobby group, Building America’s Future, has announced that former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Republican Ray LaHood is joining the organization as a new co-chair. 

Serving alongside fellow co-chairs former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, LaHood will help lead BAF’s bipartisan coalition, which pushes for more federal infrastructure funding.

The current federal highway funding authorization runs out at the end of September and is expected to be one of the top issues that Congress will address in 2014.

“While there is widespread agreement that our nation’s aging roads, bridges, transit and aviation systems are woefully inadequate, Washington has failed to show leadership in making the tough decisions to increase revenue to fund these critical investments,” said LaHood With the Highway Trust Fund just months away from insolvency, it is time for action.”

LaHood replaces former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who has left but will continue to work with BAF through the Schwarzenegger Institute at the University of Southern California.

LaHood served as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013. Prior to that he represented the 18th District of Illinois as a seven-term Congressional member and served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 

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