Paving the Way to $375 Billion

摘要

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and the entire transportation construction industry are poised to help Chairman Don Young (R-AL-AK) and the rest of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee win the fight for a six-year, $375-billion reau-thorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, the federal law that funds the nation's surface transportation system. The $375-billion funding level is what the Federal Highway Administration states is needed over the next six years to simply maintain the existing status of our nation's highways, bridges, and transit systems. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has put forth a $311-billion plan while the Bush Administration has called for a funding level of $247 billion, a mere 13% increase in TEA-21 levels. Although both the Senate and the Bush Administration's plans contain funding increases, the House T&I Committee's plan sets us on the right road to implement desperately needed infrastructure improvements. America's economy loses' $67 billion each year due to traffic congestion.