Funding Campaign Letter to the Editor

(Date)

Letters-to-the-Editor
(Name of publication)
(Address)
(City, State)

Dear Editors,

Adding to the burden of a sluggish economy, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta recently shocked Congress and the states by announcing that federal highway funding would be slashed by $8.6 billion in FY 2003, a 27 percent reduction!

What does that mean to __________ (state)? Right off the bat, it means a reduction in jobs at a time our nation needs to increase employment. Every billion in federal highway funding accounts for 42,100 jobs, most of them high-paying. The cuts will cause job losses at highway construction sites and businesses that supply construction, but also at small Main Street businesses where construction workers spend their pay. And, as unemployment climbs, there will be less revenue to support the tax base of local communities.

Equally vital, the budget cut threatens to delay or cancel sorely needed highway projects that have been on the drawing boards for years, including _________ (name projects, if possible). As a result, we'll also lose the positive benefits of these roadway improvements - the safety benefits of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities; the air quality and time saving benefits of relieving traffic congestion; and the economic and productivity benefits of speedier deliveries.

The reason for this reduction is a complicated mathematical formula that calculates revenues from highway users. But here's the rub: Uncle Sam has $19 billion in highway use taxes paid just sitting in the Highway Trust Fund, collecting dust! That's right - these taxes have already been collected from Americans who drive! Those taxes should be invested in safer highways.

The trust fund surplus and the potentially devastating effects of the cuts are why governors, highway users, and labor groups have joined with Senators and Representatives in Washington to support enactment of the Highway Funding Restoration Act. If passed, the bill would raise federal highway spending to nearly $28 billion, roughly the amount of federal fuel taxes that will be collected this year. The fuel taxes are paid by motorists and truckers for roadway improvements, and they should be used for their intended purpose.

Congress should pass the Highway Funding Restoration Act now to improve the safety and efficiency of our roadways, protect jobs in ___________ (insert state), and stimulate our economy.

Sincerely,

(Name)
(Title)
(Organization)