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)
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