Stone producers across the United States are growing increasingly weary of legislative battles over transportation funding and generally continue to support a 375 billion DOLLARS package proposed by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). Meanwhile, states and local jurisdictions continue to have money problems of their own, a situation that has given rise to fears even more transportation projects could be scuttled or delayed. At the same time, energy prices have taken a bite out of profits and the U.S. domestic economy is stuck in a slow-growth mode. Because President Bush and lawmakers could not agree on how best to address infrastructure decay, Congress in September passed a five-month extension of TEA-21. But the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) and other industry groups urged the game-playing come to an end.
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