CONTACTS:Linda Rozett/Elizabeth Keys
(202)463-5682/888-249-NEWS
Thursday, April 25, 2002
U.S. Chamber Urges Congress to Protect Transportation
Funds
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- United States Chamber of Commerce President
and CEO Thomas Donohue today urged House lawmakers to reauthorize
the Budget Enforcement Act to ensure fiscal responsibility and the
continued predictability of highway and transit funding.
"Our roads and highways cannot handle today's traffic
demands -- much less the higher volumes of freight and people
predicted in the future," said Donohue, testifying before the House
Budget Committee. "Congress needs to enforce fiscal responsibility
while maintaining predictable, long-term highway and transit
investment." The nation's highway system is facing a capacity
crisis, according to the Chamber. Since the 1970s, U.S. highway
passenger travel and vehicle miles have both almost doubled, while
road capacity has increased by a mere 5%. "Highway
improvement and expansion projects are not keeping up with demand,"
said Donohue. "The consequences of an inadequate transportation
system are long-lasting and severe: congestion, decreased
productivity, and more accidents." The Chamber is urging Congress to
reauthorize federal budget mechanisms that continue the guarantees
enacted in the TEA-21 legislation of 1998, mandating that all
revenues paid into the Highway Trust Fund must be spent for their
intended purpose of highway and transit investment. These guarantees
allow the federal government to use all dedicated user-fee revenues
for transportation infrastructure maintenance and improvement.
The Chamber chairs Americans for Transportation
Mobility, a coalition of more than 300 trade, state, and local
associations; government officials; and labor unions working to
build a safer and more efficient transportation system.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest
business federation, representing more than three million businesses
and organizations of every size, sector and region.
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