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| AASHTO Press
Release |
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Sunny Mays
Schust
(202)
624-5800
Friday, April
5, 2002 03:39 PM |
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| Future of Highway Funding to be Examined
at AASHTO Spring Meeting |
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Efforts to restore federal highway funding to
current-year levels and priorities in reauthorization of longer-term
federal highway spending measures will be among issues addressed at
AASHTO's 2002 Spring Meeting, April 18-21 at the Nemacolin Woodlands
Meeting Center near Farmington, Pennsylvania.
"Transportation
leaders in both the House and Senate are working to prevent the loss
of $8.6 billion in federal highway dollars at this fragile point in
our economic recovery," said AASHTO President Brad Mallory,
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. "We are
pleased to see at least a partial restoration in the House and
Senate budget plans." The House has agreed to restore the spending
in question to $27.7 billion in FY 2003, and the Senate Budget
Committee is considering bringing that number to $28.9
billion.
The FY 2003 funding level will set the baseline for
reauthorization of federal highway programs as Congress takes up the
legislation next year. The AASHTO Board of Directors will consider
policy recommendations for that reauthorization at the meeting.
Priorities include expansion of the program, preserving existing
funding guarantees and striking a balance between environmental
stewardship and streamlining environmental oversight processes, said
AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley.
Briefing AASHTO
during the spring meeting will be Rep. Robert Borski, Ranking
Minority Member of the Highway and Transit Subcommittee of the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Federal Highway
Administrator Mary Peters.
The Spring Meeting is one of two
annual meetings of the AASHTO Board of Directors, comprised of the
chief executives of the 50 state DOTs, plus those of he District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico.
More information about the AASHTO's
Spring Meeting can be obtained
here.
A PDF of
this release is also available:
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