Maintain FY2003 Federal Highway Funding
at $31.8 Billion to Set Healthy TEA-21 Reauthorization Baseline, ARTBA Tells Congress

Contact:
Joe Manero 202-289-4434 jmanero@artba.org		Matt Jeanneret 202-289-4434 mjeanneret@artba.org	Print this page

Washington, D.C. [September 19, 2002]—One of the most important steps Congress and the Bush Administration could take now to prepare for the 2003 reauthorization of the federal surface transportation programs would be to fund the FY2003 federal highway program at the current year's $31.8 billion level, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) told a congressional panel today. Such an action, ARTBA said, would set a solid budget baseline for the reauthorization bills.

In Sept. 19 testimony before the House Highways & Transit Subcommittee, ARTBA Chairman Tom Hill said the association's vision for the scheduled 2003 TEA-21 reauthorization is centered on three goals:

• Cutting the number of deaths and injuries on America's highways between 2004 and 2009 through targeted capital investments.
• Ensuring that traffic congestion for the American public and business community does not get materially worse between now and 2009; and
• Ensuring that the physical condition of federally-aided highways, bridges and transit systems at least remain the same so that American businesses can continue to improve their productivity. Maintaining our highway system is critical to the nation's economic growth.

"These goals can only be achieved if the capital investments necessary to maintain existing system conditions and performance are provided," Hill, chief executive officer of Washington, D.C.-based Oldcastle Materials, Inc., the nation's largest highway materials and asphalt pavement firm, told the subcommittee.

Hill outlined ARTBA's plan for funding the post-TEA-21 highway and transit programs, called "Two Cents Make Sense." It calls for more efficient cash management of Highway Trust Fund revenues combined with small annual adjustments in the federal motor fuels excise user fees.

The ARTBA plan would double federal investment in highway and mass transit capital improvements by 2009. It would ramp up federal highway investment in $5 billion per year increments to the $60 billion level in FY 2009. Federal transit investments would rise $1 billion per year under the plan, to almost $14 billion in FY 2009.

"The ARTBA funding proposal is the only plan currently under discussion that would grow revenues to meet the minimum investment requirements identified by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Public Transportation Association," Hill pointed out.

"By implementing 'Two Cents Makes Sense'," Hill said, "the Congress would merely be following the U.S. Department of Transportation's professional advice in setting annual authorization levels and then initiating a true 'pay-as-you-go' financing plan to meet the cash outlays needed to pay for them."

The ARTBA plan would annually index the federal motor fuels excise to the Consumer Price Index and then further adjust the federal highway user fee rate, depending on incoming revenues to the Highway Trust Fund, by a penny to a penny-and-a-half per gallon. At most, the total annual adjustment, including indexing, would be about two cents per gallon. The year-to-year rate would either rise, or drop slightly, depending on the strength of the revenue stream to the trust fund.

"The federal government should be collecting no more money from the nation's highway users than is absolutely necessary to pay the government's annual cash outlay for the highway and transit improvement programs," Hill said. "Our plan would eliminate the huge balances that have built up in the Highway Trust Fund."

The ARTBA co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) began running print ads in Capitol Hill publications Sept. 19 urging Congress to support a $31.8 billion highway program funding level again in FY 2003. Nearly 300 transportation construction industry executives are traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with their congressman and senators on the FY 2003 transportation appropriation, September 24.

ARTBA, which is based in Washington, D.C., exclusively represents the transportation construction industry, both public and private sectors, in the Nation's Capital. The industry generates $200 billion annually in U.S. economic activity and sustains 2.5 million American jobs. ARTBA marks its 100th anniversary this year.

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Editors Note: The complete text and oral presentation of Tom Hill's testimony: