AASHTO lauds members for responding to proposed budget changes.
Press Release Summary:
AASHTO commends and supports Members of Congress who have written to President and leadership of House and Senate Budget Committees calling for retention of current budget rules that apply to transportation programs. Members cited several concerns, including loss of transparency that would occur from merging Trust-Funded and non-Trust-Funded programs, and impacts to commitment that user fees deposited into Aviation and Highway Trust Funds are used for intended purposes.
Original Press Release:
AASHTO Lauds Members for Responding to Proposed Budget Changes
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
commends and supports the Members of Congress who have written to the President and the
leadership of the House and Senate Budget Committees calling for retention of the current budget rules that apply to transportation programs.
The Members of Congress responded to proposed changes contained in the President's fiscal year 2010 budget outline. If enacted, these changes would significantly hamper the ability of States to deliver capital programs by undermining the stability of funding to States and reducing the effectiveness of long-term planning.
The Members cited several concerns:
o The loss of transparency that would occur from merging Trust-Funded and non-Trust-
Funded programs, and
o Impacts to the longstanding commitment that user fees deposited into the Aviation and
Highway Trust Funds are, in fact, used for their intended purposes - to rebuild the
nation's infrastructure.
John Horsley, AASHTO's Executive Director, expressed his appreciation to the Members
saying, "The President has expressed strong support for rebuilding the nation's infrastructure and this proposed change would be a step backward in that effort."
Members signing the letter to the leaders of the Budget Committee include: Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV),
Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CN), Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chairman Max Baucus
(D-MT), Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL), Ranking Minority Members Rep. John Mica (R-FL),
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) and Tim Petri (R-WI
