AASHTO Joins US Sen Boxer in support of new Jobs Bill.
Press Release Summary:
Senate bill to extend funding for existing highway and transit programs through December 31 drew support from John Horsley, Executive Director of AASHTO. This bill, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE), would also transfer $20 billion from General Fund to Highway Trust Fund to keep both Highway and Transit Accounts solvent. Horsley said it "would restore the baseline for the transportation program from $30 billion to $42 billion and restore certainty to states."
Original Press Release:
AASHTO Joins U.S. Sen. Boxer in Support of Critical New Jobs Bill
(Washington, D.C.) - A new Senate bill to extend funding for existing highway and transit programs through December 31, 2010 drew strong support today from John Horsley, Executive Director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. HIRE, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, would also transfer approximately $20 billion from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to keep both the Highway and Transit Accounts solvent. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that the HTF could run short of funds by June, if no action is taken.
"What's at stake here is a million jobs. States are losing $1 billion each month without a long-term extension," said John Horsley AASHTO executive director. "Since September of last year, Congress has passed three short-term extensions, the most recent of which will expire in just 11 days. This bill would restore the baseline for the transportation program from $30 billion to $42 billion and restore certainty to states." See www.transportation.org for a video statement.
Senator Boxer was joined today at a tele-news conference by Horsley, Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America, and Bill Millar, President, American Public Transport Association.
Senator Boxer told reporters she hopes the bill will become the first of several jobs packages to be passed by the Senate this year. Boxer said, "It's clear that investments in infrastructure are a crucial component of job creation and insuring that these are included in the very first jobs package is essential."
The highway trust fund transfer would reimburse the fund for interest diverted in the past to the General Fund. The extension will ensure that existing federal highway and transit programs remain funded at the levels authorized for Fiscal Year 2009. HIRE would also expand the Build America Bonds program, allowing states and local governments to borrow at lower costs to finance more infrastructure projects and put additional people to work.
According to AASHTO's new report, Projects and Paychecks: a One-Year Report on State Transportation Successes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more than 280,000 jobs were created and more than 12,250 transportation projects are underway as a result of the jobs bill signed into law one year ago today. The Recovery Act also authorized the Build America Bonds program, which enabled the issuance of $65 billion in bonds in 2009.
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.
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