States Would Lose $8.7 Billion in Highway Funds if Congress Fails to Act

 

In his letter, AASHTO executive director John Horsley stated that the rescission must be repealed or it will nullify the benefits from economic recovery efforts. - Courtesy of American Society of Highway Engineers

All 535 members of the House and Senate received an urgent letter from American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), requesting that Congress repeal an $8.7 billion rescission of highway contract authority. The rescission was written into SAFETEA-LU, the highway and transit authorization bill passed by Congress in 2005.

In his letter, AASHTO executive director John Horsley contended, "An additional $8.7 billion rescission will result in substantial, real program cuts, not merely a reduction of unused dollars on the books. Provisions in section 1132 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which require that the states apply the rescission proportionately across all programs, will exacerbate the problem by further reducing state discretion to make reductions according to priorities." - Courtesy of AASHTO