Urgent Action needed to preserve federal highway funding.
Press Release Summary:
Allen Biehler, Secretary of Pennsylvania DOT and President of AASHTO, warned that state departments of transportation are living hand to mouth and would be forced to cut back projects if Congress fails to plug hole in Highway Trust Fund. If additional revenue is not provided to Highway Trust Fund for FY 2010, federal highway program will face cut of 86%, dropping to level of $5.7 billion, which is potentially calamitous for transportation industry.
Original Press Release:
Urgent Action Needed to Preserve Federal Highway Funding
Shortfall Threatens "Severe Cuts throughout the Industry"
Allen Biehler, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, warned that state departments of transportation are living "hand to mouth" and would be forced to cut back projects if Congress fails to plug the hole in the Highway Trust Fund.
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, House Committee on Ways and Means, Biehler said that states had been informed by the U.S. Department of Transportation that the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund will likely fall $7.5 billion short of what is needed to fund federal commitments to the states. "If the Highway Trust Fund becomes insolvent in FY 2009, States will have to suspend new contract awards and look for ways to stop on-going construction. The penalty payments will be huge," Biehler said.
If additional revenue is not provided to the Highway Trust Fund for FY 2010, the federal highway program will face a cut of 86 percent, Biehler said dropping to a level of $5.7 billion, "potentially calamitous," for the transportation industry. An estimated $10 billion would be required to fund the program at current levels through the end of FY 2010 he said.
Biehler said that state DOTs prefer to see enactment of a long-term, well-funded bill reauthorizing the federal-aid highway and transit programs. However, immediate action to shore up the Highway Trust Fund is critical.
Biehler's full testimony can be viewed at tinyurl.com/ABtestimony0723.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the "Voice of Transportation" representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation.
