Washington, D.C. – The leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will introduce legislation on Thursday to address the revenue shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund.

The legislation will offset the reductions in highway spending proposed by the administration in its Fiscal Year 2003 budget. The bill would require that spending on highways at least match the levels authorized in TEA-21, the nation's current surface transportation law.

U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, I - VT, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said, "This bill will restore billions of dollars to our states and municipalities to maintain our vital transportation needs. We can't afford to backslide on our commitment to the traveling public and to the jobs that the transportation system supports. I am hopeful that this bicameral, tripartisan proposal will move quicky and ensure our states can move forward as we enter the construction season."

"The amount of funding we are seeking is a reasonable and achievable amount," said U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "This will allow our states to continue to move forward on their important transportation projects and protect hundreds of thousands of American jobs in every region of the nation. The fact that this legislation has the widespread support of both Republicans and Democrats, and House and Senate leaders, should be strong sign that we are extremely serious in our dedication to restoring the highway funding level to the amount mandated in TEA 21." U.S. Sen. Bob Smith, R - NH, Senior Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said, "The health of our transportation system is not only critical to safe public travel and the shipment of goods, it is an essential component of our economic recovery and the backbone of our military transport. Currently, the funding mechanism for our highways is in jeopardy. In order to ensure the Nation's transportation needs are adequately met, my colleagues and I are introducing this fiscally responsible legislation to restore the threatened funding for our highways without tapping our general revenue."

"The Administration argues that: 'the law made us do it,' that TEA 21's revenue alignment mechanism requires the downward adjustment," said U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-MN, Ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee and one of the authors of the landmark Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21), which authorized highway spending through FY2003. "The guaranteed funding level is a floor not a ceiling. TEA 21 specifically authorizes an additional $15 billion for highway investment above this guaranteed level. The Highway Trust Fund can support significantly more investment in highway infrastructure. The Highway Account currently has a cash balance of $20 billion. Under President Bush's proposal, the Highway Trust Fund will explode to $33 billion in five years (2007) and $74 billion in ten years (2012). This is simply unacceptable."

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D - NV, Chairman of the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee said, "Americans lucky enough to have a steady job these days know it's not only difficult to hold a job during this recession - it's also hard just to get to and from the work place. Ever-worsening congestion in my home state of Nevada has told me that all our roadways could use a lot of work. That's why I think now is not the time to cut back on investments in our transportation system. Every Billion dollars we spend on road work gives a job to 42,000 Americans - and helps millions more Americans commute safely to and from work every day. The White House highway spending cuts could really hurt Nevada because my state is the fastest growing state in the nation. I know these cuts would have a terrible impact on our economy and on the quality of life of all Americans. That's why my subcommittee will get to work - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to fill the holes in the President's budget so that all states receive the highway funding levels they anticipated when the highway bill (TEA-21) was written. We will make sure that these construction projects get moving around this budgetary road block."

"An $8.5 billion cut in highway spending next year just doesn't make sense," said U.S. Rep. Tom Petri, R-WI, the Chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee. "The budget submitted by the President represents a minimum of spending required under TEA-21, but more spending is authorized. 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."

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R - OK, Ranking Member of the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee said, "A critical element of continued economic growth is an efficient and cost effective transportation system, which includes the movement of people, goods and services. I am pleased to join my Environment and Public Works colleagues in introducing legislation which will restore the transportation spending promised to states for FY03. This legislation not only keeps our promises to the states, but also helps protect the economic recovery that the country is beginning to experience." "This is enormously important for jobs. A billion dollars in highway spending is 40,000 jobs. We should be increasing the amount of money we spend on jobs, not taking it away," said U.S. Rep. Bob Borski, D-PA, Ranking Democrat on the Highways and Transit Subcommittee. "TEA 21 provided long-term, stable, predictable funding. Highway projects need this. They don't get built in weeks or days, it takes years. This decrease, if it stands, will undermine that fundamental concept."