AGC Pushes for Highway Bill

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Washington, is foremost among the interested parties waiting for Congress to finalize a multi-year federal transportation spending bill, working its way through Capitol Hill as the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU).

In late February, the AGC arranged for many of its members to fly into Washington to personally remind Congressional representatives of the importance of the bill to its constituents. “The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee should be allowed to follow the lead of the Chairman and pass TEA-LU,” says Stephen E. Sandherr, CEO of the trade group. “The Senate has acted and now the House Leaders need to support action on a comprehensive six-year package that includes a minimum of $318 billion funding level to address the needs of the federal-aid highway and transit programs.”

The AGC has also expressed alarm that the Bush Administration’s $2.4 trillion budget submission “misses an opportunity to improve the American quality of life.” 

According to a press release from the AGC, the House and Senate are considering legislation to significantly increase funding for highways and transit along with legislation that would significantly increase funding for water and waste water systems nation-wide. Despite Congressional preference to fund these programs at a higher level, the president’s budget recommends flat-line funding or cuts. Administration funding for the Army Corps of Engineers General Construction Program is recommended for funding that would flat-line its efforts.

This decision comes despite the fact that both the House and Senate expressed concern about how funding cuts had caused significant cash management problems for important Corps’ flood control and dredging projects. “These are long-term projects that require a sound funding stream to execute and they have significant public support” Sandherr says. "Recommending cuts ignores the economic efficiencies and resulting jobs that can be created by many of these programs,” he notes.