U.S. House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. Rep. Don Young,
Chairman
Contact: Steve Hansen (Republican Communications
Director) (202)
225-7749
Justin Harclerode
(Republican Communications Assistant)
(202) 226-8767
Jim Berard (Democrat
Communications Director) (202)
225-6260
To: National Desk/Transportation
Reporter
February 7,
2002
Legislation Designed To
Increase Highway Funding In All 50 States Introduced In U.S. House &
Senate;
Legislation Would Save
180,000 Jobs Throughout The Nation
Washington, D.C. - Bipartisan legislation designed to increase highway
funding in all 50 states was officially introduced today by the Transportation
Committee leaders in both the U.S. House and Senate.
In
addition to allowing important state highway projects to move forward, the
funding in the legislation will save more than 180,000 jobs across the
country.
In the House, 74 Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee have signed on as cosponsors of the “Highway
Funding Restoration Act” (H.R. 3694).
In the Senate, identical legislation was introduced by the
leadership of the Environment and Public Works Committee led by Chairman Jim
Jeffords (I-VT); Ranking Republican Bob Smith (R-NH); Sen. Harry
Reid (D-NV), Chairman of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear
Safety Subcommittee; and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Republican of
the Transportation Subcommittee.
“Republicans and Democrats from every region of the nation have joined in
this effort to restore this vital funding to improve our highways and roads, and
secure jobs for 180,000 workers
during this difficult economic period,” said U.S. Rep. Don Young
(R-Alaska), the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee.
“By restoring a minimum of $4.4 billion for highway programs in the
budget we will ensure that all 50 states will benefit from the distribution of
the $27.75 billion highway budget - the minimum amount our legislation will
allow.
“Our
approach is a reasonable, fiscally-responsible one. Based on the information we have to date
the Highway Trust Fund can support this level.”
(See pages 2 & 3 for an
analysis of how each state will benefit under the new
legislation.)
“As Secretary Mineta once observed, there are no
Republican roads or Democratic roads, just American roads. The issue of sufficient investment in
our transportation infrastructure is not a Democratic issue nor is it a
Republican issue, it is a national issue,” said U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar
(D-MN), Ranking Democrat on the Full Committee. “This legislation will benefit every
state in the union. It will save jobs – good, family-wage jobs – and create new
ones. It will make a significant
investment in our future.”
“The number of cosponsors on this bill demonstrates widespread
understanding that we need an adequately-funded program next year, as previously
provided for under TEA 21,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), the Chairman
of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee.
“At a time when there is a $20 billion balance in the Highway Trust Fund,
when states are already planning to postpone or delay projects due to shortfalls
in state revenues, with hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake, and with the
urgent need to make transportation safer and more efficient, we must act
now.”
"Each of us who serves on
this committee is enormously proud of TEA 21 and the success of this program,”
said U.S. Rep. Bob Borski (D-PA), Ranking Democrat on the Highways
and Transit Subcommittee. “This is
the most bipartisan committee in the House of Representatives. No matter what the issue, at whatever
time, this committee always tries to do what is best on a bipartisan basis.
That is exactly what we are
doing with this legislation.”
“The
Highway Funding Restoration Act”
The
legislation amends the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century
(TEA 21) which sets highway program funding at $27.746 billion in FY 2003. This level restores $4.4 billion to the
Administration’s proposed highway funding budget. This restoration brings the highway
program back up to the level that was anticipated when it became law in 1998.
The bill also ensures that the money is distributed as required in TEA 21 -
insuring that all 50 states receive their share as provided in the formula.
Each
year the highway funding levels authorized by TEA 21 are adjusted. This process is known as a “RABA”
adjustment which seeks to equalize revenues and expenditures from the Highway
Trust Fund. In spite of RABA, the
Highway Trust Fund has accumulated a $20 billion balance.
The
FY 2003 highway funding levels in the President’s budget represent a cut of more
than $8 billion from 2002 levels, and are about $4.5 billion less than the
levels written into TEA 21. This
funding restoration translates into 180,000 family-wage jobs across the nation.
State-By-State Breakdown Of
Highway Funding Increases Under H.R. 3694
|
STATE |
Funding Increase |
|
ALABAMA |
81,099,743 |
|
ALASKA |
37,455,657 |
|
ARIZONA |
66,603,034 |
|
ARKANSAS |
52,523,405 |
|
CALIFORNIA |
372,768,422 |
|
COLORADO |
52,361,787 |
|
CONNECTICUT |
56,288,197 |
|
DELAWARE |
17,641,708 |
|
DIST. OF COL. |
17,208,855 |
|
FLORIDA |
173,162,203 |
|
GEORGIA |
135,691,995 |
|
HAWAII |
20,443,423 |
|
IDAHO |
29,604,560 |
|
ILLINOIS |
138,728,015 |
|
INDIANA |
89,805,113 |
|
IOWA |
50,342,837 |
|
KANSAS |
49,446,056 |
|
KENTUCKY |
70,298,933 |
|
LOUISIANA |
64,912,504 |
|
MAINE |
21,531,260 |
|
MARYLAND |
66,471,953 |
|
MASSACHUSETTS |
76,450,940 |
|
MICHIGAN |
126,641,543 |
|
MINNESOTA |
61,192,413 |
|
MISSISSIPPI |
52,235,162 |
|
MISSOURI |
96,553,121 |
|
MONTANA |
36,292,545 |
|
NEBRASKA |
32,712,161 |
|
NEVADA |
27,782,690 |
|
NEW HAMPSHIRE |
20,543,853 |
|
NEW JERSEY |
107,547,503 |
|
NEW MEXICO |
38,635,228 |
|
NEW YORK |
206,941,580 |
|
NORTH CAROLINA |
108,380,954 |
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
26,442,337 |
|
OHIO |
140,906,579 |
|
OKLAHOMA |
64,380,797 |
|
OREGON |
50,924,599 |
|
PENNSYLVANIA |
206,369,707 |
|
RHODE ISLAND |
23,727,766 |
|
SOUTH CAROLINA |
64,663,898 |
|
SOUTH DAKOTA |
29,117,659 |
|
TENNESSEE |
92,109,524 |
|
TEXAS |
297,204,941 |
|
UTAH |
32,503,639 |
|
VERMONT |
18,569,345 |
|
VIRGINIA |
102,139,736 |
|
WASHINGTON |
74,070,714 |
|
WEST VIRGINIA |
45,960,507 |
|
WISCONSIN |
75,807,764 |
|
WYOMING |
28,571,076 |