Rep. Boozman: "Highway Bill Will Provide Some Relief for Arkansas Commuters"

Rep. Boozman: "Highway Bill Will Provide Some Relief for Arkansas Commuters"
House passes infrastructure authorization of nearly $284 billion

Washington, Mar 10 - Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) today voted to allocate almost $284 billion to our nation's highway and transit programs over the next six years. The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU), also commonly referred to as the Highway Bill, overwhelmingly passed the House by a vote of 417-9.

"I am pleased that we passed the Highway Bill today, which will provide some relief for Arkansas commuters by providing the state over two and a half billion dollars for repairs and construction to our highways, roads and transit programs," said Boozman. "Our region continues to be one of the fastest growing in the country and this funding will help our municipalities deal with the strain that has been placed on our infrastructure," said Rep. Boozman.

Should this legislation become law, Arkansas is will receive $2.7 billion in highway funds over the next six years. Arkansas will also receive additional money for the state's transit needs. The Third District of Arkansas is also set to receive assistance for specific projects that have been earmarked in TEA-LU.

"The earmarks in this version of the bill are subject to change as the House and Senate come to agreement on the size of the bill. However, with that being said, I am very pleased to see that the House felt these projects were worthy of funding. These are good projects, that are ready to go and this funding will help get them underway," said Boozman.

Boozman also pointed to the job creation aspect of TEA-LU as further reason why this bill is good news for Arkansas.

"For every $1 billion spent on transportation, 47,000 jobs are created which means close to 100,000 new jobs for Arkansans over the next six years," said Boozman.

http://boozman.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=7216