Rep. Courtney Votes to Replenish Depleted Highway Trust Fund and Protect State's Transportation Funding

Press Release

Congressman Joe Courtney voted today to restore more than $8 billion to the Highway Trust Fund to eliminate a pending shortfall in the federal transportation funding provided to our states next year. The measure, H.R. 6532, the Highway Trust Fund Restoration, will restore the more than $160 million that Connecticut stands to lose in 2009 federal transportation funding if the shortfall is not addressed. Connecticut's total Fiscal Year 2009 transportation funding should be more than $482 million, including the restoration of these funds. The bill passed by a final vote was 387-37.

"The state of our transportation infrastructure is a critical issue in Connecticut," stated Courtney. "This is a vital fix to the Highway Trust Fund shortfall and will support many of the improvements needed throughout our region. Not only does the bill address the solvency of the fund, but it protects the nearly 5,500 jobs that will be lost in the state's transportation construction industry if the shortfall is not addressed. This bill is crucial to our region's economy and safety, and I urge the President to support this legislation."

Revenue into the Highway Trust Fund has dropped significantly due to rising energy prices, leaving an alarming shortfall in the resources available for federal-aid highway programs that states rely on.

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), failing to enact this bill could lead to a devastating $14 billion, or 34 percent, reduction in federal highway investment in FY 2009. A 34 percent cut in each state's highway funds would lead to the loss of nearly 380,000 jobs at a time when we are attempting to revive the U.S. economy.

Congressman Courtney is an original cosponsor of the legislation, which achieves balance in the Highway Trust Fund by restoring $8 billion that was transferred from the Trust Fund to the nation's general spending fund in 1998. In addition, Courtney wrote to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) urging them to address the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund.

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