Petri News Release Banner

March 24, 2004

$275 Billion Highway & Transit Funding Bill
Approved By House Transportation Committee

Committee Also Approves $375 Billion Funding Bill

WASHINGTON – A $275 billion bill that would provide federal funding for the nation’s highway and transit programs for the next six years was approved today by the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The legislation (H.R. 3550) - “The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users” (TEA LU) - was approved by a voice vote. The legislation is tentatively scheduled to be considered by the full House of Representatives late next week.

The Transportation Committee also unanimously approved by voice vote a $375 billion, six-year highway and transit funding bill (H.R. 3994) that was based upon funding projections by the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to DOT, the $375 billion bill would be the minimum level needed simply to maintain America’s existing highway and transit infrastructure and begin to address minimal improvements to address the increasing highway safety and congestion crisis. H.R. 3994 would also create and sustain 1.7 million new jobs throughout all 50 states over the next six years.

However, the bipartisan leadership of the Transportation was forced to scale back the funding in the bill by the Administration to the $275 billion level included in H.R. 3550 - the bill that will be brought before the full House next week.

$375 Billion Funding Level Unanimously Supported
By Transportation Committee

In November 2003, the bipartisan leadership of the Transportation Committee introduced the original $375 billion funding bill citing:

  1. DOT’s projection regarding the need for $375 billion during the next six years simply to maintain the nation’s existing surface transportation;

  2. The $70 billion that is wasted each year due solely to traffic congestion and the waste of more than 5.7 billion gallons of gas each year by commuters sitting idle in traffic jams;

  3. The 42,000 highway fatalities each year, of which one third are directly attributed to substandard road conditions and road size hazards.

The $375 billion legislation would have provided about $300 billion for highway projects and $75 billion for transit projects over the next years.

“On November 20, 2003, this Committee stood together on a bipartisan basis to introduce a bill which embodied our vision for a better transportation legacy for America’s future,” said U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the Chairman of the Transportation Committee.

“However, I am disappointed that we have had to reduce the funding for many of the very good programs that we have proposed.

“We had originally based the funding level of our $375 billion bill on the Administration’s Conditions and Performance Report which set forth the needs of our transportation system. In addition, we received far more requests from Members for funding of projects than we can possibly accommodate. That proves to me that the needs are real and that they are growing.

“Failure to begin to address those needs will leave our country behind in protecting the integrity of our economic base. It will reduce the quality of life of our citizens,” Young said.

“H.R. 3994 is the right bill and the bill we should be moving this morning and bringing before the House,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), the Chairman of the Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee. “It reflects a robust and dynamic transportation program that invests in our nation’s infrastructure to save lives, create jobs, ensure economic prosperity and help the U.S. remain competitive in a global environment.

“Not investing in transportation now in order to ‘save money’ is penny wise but pound foolish. As we have seen repeatedly, a nation is only as strong as its basic infrastructure that supports economic activity and improves the daily lives of its citizens.

“Countries like India and China are investing in infrastructure on a massive scale. We should not rest on our past laurels and be shortsighted about the future challenges before us.

“We need this bill and this investment to protect our standard of living, to protect our citizens’ safety, to protect our nation’s jobs, and to protect our economic standing in a fast- changing world,” Petri said.

$275 Billion Bill Approved By Committee

The Committee concluded the markup by approving the $275 billion funding bill by a voice vote. This bill will provide about $225 billion for highway programs and about $51 billion for transit programs during the next six years. The funding for all of the highway and transit projects was reduced because of a veto threat by the Administration.

“I will not give up on my dream to enact a six year bill that reauthorizes our highway, transit, motor carriers and safety programs at funding levels that are high enough to do the job,” Transportation Committee Chairman Young told the Committee.

“However, we must meet reality with action. Today, that action is to report out of this Committee the best legislation that we as a Committee can develop and improve it as we move through the process,” Young said.

“TEA LU as introduced at $375 billion is the right thing to do,” Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman Petri said during the Committee markup. “It was fashioned to start to address the needs as identified by our own U.S. Department of Transportation. Anything less will not maintain and improve our transportation system.

“Nevertheless, this bill with the substitute amendment at $275 billion is a step toward meeting the needs we have as a nation with the reduced amount of resources and is the best we can achieve at the current time given the current situation we find ourselves in.

“Is this the bill that we hoped to approve today? No.

“But the innovative policy, the improvements as to how this nation builds and maintains its infrastructure, and the course that is set for the future remain in place,” Petri said.


Blueline - page separator

NOTE: This press release was originally distributed by the House Committee on Transortation and Infrastructure