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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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