Steve Hansen
U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Mon Sep 22 21:19:55 2003
64.140.159.11

U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. Rep. Don Young, Chairman
http://www.house.gov/transportation/

Contact: Steve Hansen (Director of Communications) (202) 225-7749
Email: Steve.Hansen@mail.house.gov
Justin Harclerode (Deputy Director of Communications) (202) 226-8767
Email: Justin.Harclerod@mail.house.gov
Jim Berard (Democratic Director of Communications) (202) 225-6260

To: National Desk/Transportation Reporter
September 4, 2003

Transportation Committee Leaders & Civil Engineers Highlight Need To Address Deterioration Of Nation’s Infrastructure;
Highways, Transit, Water & Energy Infrastructure Progress Report Shows Widespread Declines In Quality

Washington, D.C. – Leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and officials of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today outlined a report highlighting the continued deterioration of our nation’s highways, bridges, transit systems and water infrastructure, and called for an immediate increase in funding to address the growing national problem.

At a press conference this morning, ASCE released a progress report on their 2001 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure which graded the quality of 12 categories of infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transit, aviation, wastewater infrastructure, and dams. The 2003 Progress Report indicates that since 2001 some categories have seen no improvement, while many have declined. No categories have improved since 2001’s overall infrastructure grade of D+.

The Report Card grades 12 separate categories of infrastructure. In the categories of Roads, Transit, Drinking Water, Wastewater, Dams, Navigable Waterways, and Energy, trends indicate a decline in infrastructure since 2001. According to the report, Bridges, Aviation, Schools, Solid Waste, and Hazardous Waste infrastructure quality remain essentially unchanged. ASCE estimates that a $1.6 trillion investment is needed to improve conditions to an acceptable level - an increase from 2001’s estimate of $1.3 trillion.

The complete Progress Report, along with a state-by-state analysis, can be accessed at ASCE’s website:
www.asce.org/reportcard

Invest In Transportation Now Or Pay More Later In Lost Lives, Efficiency & Higher Costs
“The massive blackouts recently experienced here in the United States revealed the instability of our energy infrastructure, but unfortunately other elements of our infrastructure are equally unsound,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Chairman of the Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee.

“32 percent of our major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 28 percent of our bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

“Nearly one-third of all fatal crashes each year are caused by substandard road conditions and roadside hazards.

“Congestion is affecting our quality of life and costing our nation $67 billion a year.

“We have two choices: pay a little now to provide a significant investment in our infrastructure, or pay much more later in lost lives, lost efficiency, and the greater costs that will be needed to repair a more deteriorated transportation system,” said Petri.

We Must Do Better – The Time To Act Is Now
“This report card clearly shows that our highway, bridge and transit systems have earned poor grades and we must do better,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), the Ranking Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“Many in Congress support increased investment for highways, bridges and transit, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is working on a bill to invest $375 billion in our highways, bridges and transit systems over the next six years. These investments will enable us to begin to improve our surface transportation system. The time to act is now.”

Congress Must Enact Legislation That Reaffirms Our Commitment To This Nation’s Infrastructure
“For the general public, infrastructure is often ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” said U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), Chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. “Until the lights go out, or the sewers back up, or a devastating flood occurs, it is hard to get people to pay attention to our infrastructure needs.

“The problems with our wastewater or waterways infrastructure will not be solved by Federal dollars alone, but Federal investment will trigger even greater investments by States and local governments and the private sector.

“To make progress, we must provide Federal leadership. We can start now, by enacting legislation that reaffirms our commitment to this Nation’s infrastructure,” said Duncan.

“We’re Sliding Toward Failure And The Prospects For Improvement Are Grim”
“For more than 15 years, experts studying our nation’s infrastructure have sounded a warning,” said ASCE President Thomas Jackson. “The infrastructure that supports our economy and quality of life is crumbling and we have failed to invest in the improvements needed to keep pace with our growing population, let alone our increasing demands.

“With the overall grade for our infrastructure a discouraging D+, that means we’re sliding toward failure and the prospects for improvement are grim.”

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this year has considered some significant measures that address infrastructure needs, including a four-year bill that funds Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs and the Airport Improvement Program, legislation to authorize U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects and studies for river and harbor navigation improvements, a bill to address our nation’s substantial wastewater infrastructure needs, and a bill to provide for high-speed rail and rail infrastructure projects.

The Committee is also drafting a six-year $375 billion highway and transit funding reauthorization bill to address the growing national congestion and highway safety problems.

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Lawmakers consider raising federal gas tax
Money needed for highways, they say

By Jim Abrams
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - House Transportation Committee leaders are thinking about increasing the federal gas tax to sustain the nation's deteriorating highways, but others in the House say that's unlikely with gas prices at near-record highs.

Transportation Committee chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, and top Democratic member James Oberstar of Minnesota say they need $375 billion over the next six years just to maintain and make some improvements to the highway system.

They have asked for $50 billion for the 2004 budget year for highway and transit programs, compared with the $36.5 billion President Bush proposed.

"The economy cannot continue to grow without a transportation system that moves people and goods efficiently," Young told the House Budget Committee this week. He added that there is no longer a choice between raising or not raising more revenues. "Rather, our choice is between different methods of adjusting them."

One method being mulled is indexing the gas tax for inflation, retroactive to the last change in 1993. That would boost the federal tax, currently 18.4 cents a gallon, by about 5.4 cents. State gas taxes average an additional 22 cents per gallon.

Other possibilities are raising the tax 2 cents a year through 2009, taxing ethanol at the same rate as gasoline or stopping the practice of transferring interest from the highway trust fund - money from the gas tax dedicated to highway programs - to the general Treasury fund.

The current six-year highway program, which expires this year, was funded at $218 billion, but lawmakers say that spending level falls far short of current needs.

A letter to the Budget Committee signed by 74 of the 75 Transportation Committee members cited a Transportation Department report estimating it would require $53 billion a year just to keep highways and transit systems in their current conditions. About $75 billion a year would be needed to improve highway safety and reduce congestion.

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/09/biz_gastax09.html