Economic Stimulus Letter to Environment & Public Works Committee

October 4, 2001

Dear Mr. Chairman and Senator Smith:

Congress and the Bush administration are considering provisions to be included in a legislative package of tax cuts and additional spending designed to stimulate the nation's flagging economy. I understand that you and other key leaders on both sides of the Capitol support an additional $5 billion for highways in fiscal year 2002 as part of the stimulus package. The American Highway Users Alliance strongly endorses this proposal, and we have encouraged other members of Congress and administration officials to support it as well.

Investing in better roads and bridges as part of an overall economic stimulus package makes eminent sense. Here's why:

• The money is already available. There is a $20 billion cash balance in the Highway Trust Fund which can be drawn down with no need to raise new taxes now or in the future to finance this new spending.
• The money can be put to use immediately. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) just surveyed all state transportation departments to ascertain what projects they have ready to go to construction if additional funding were available. Based on preliminary responses from 38 states, there are 1,772 highway improvement projects worth $12.9 billion that could be underway within 90 days once additional funding is made available.
• The money will have a dramatic economic impact both in the short term and for the next several years. A $5 billion increase for highways will create more than 56,000 this year, according to an analysis of Federal Highway Administration data by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Those are good-paying jobs in the highway construction and supply industries as well as related service industries. The following year, the same highway funding will create an additional 88,000 new jobs.
• The money will help build a solid foundation for future economic growth. Traffic congestion costs the nation more than $72 billion annually, according to a recent report by the Texas Transportation Institute. Much of that cost is the time and fuel wasted by truckers and other commercial carriers idling in traffic. The $5 billion you may approve as part of this economic stimulus package will help eliminate traffic bottlenecks and speed the flow of traffic that would otherwise continue to impede the movement of goods and people and slow our nation's economic engine.

Thank you, again, for your leadership in this important legislative campaign. If you succeed, businesses and workers across the country will be the immediate beneficiaries of your effort, and the nation will reap the benefits for years to come.

Sincerely,

William D. Fay
President and CEO

cc: Environment and Public Works Committee Members