AASHTO: 380,000 jobs in danger over Congress’ highway fund failure

State highway and transportation officials say Congress failed to fix the Highway Trust Fund deficit, with disastrous results.

The Trucker News Services

6/27/2008

WASHINGTON — An estimated 380,000 jobs and hundreds of construction projects are in jeopardy across the nation after Congress failed this week to fix a $3.3 billion dollar deficit in the Highway Trust Fund, asserts the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The House and Senate dropped a provision from a three-month aviation tax extension bill that would have provided $8 billion to keep the nation's transportation account solvent, the organization stated in a  news release on its Web site.

AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley expressed his strong disappointment saying, "If members of Congress believe that this failure to act has no consequences, they're wrong."

Most states depend on federal funding to support transportation projects, but states won't know if their federal highway funding will be cut by 34 percent until their fiscal year begins. For many states, the fiscal year starts on July 1.

The failure to act sets the stage for a last minute effort in late September to rescue America's Transportation Account. If that does not occur, the federal-aid highway program will be reduced by $13.5 and $20 billion, the news release said.

“This loss would be another blow to the transportation industry, which is suffering from a stagnant economy, high fuel prices, inflationary pressures, and natural disasters.”

AASHTO represents all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation.