With a stroke of a pen on Sept. 29, President Bush extended
the federal surface transportation legislation for five months, maintaining
funding for federal highway and transit programs through Feb. 29, 2004. With
lawmakers at home until the State of the Union address in late January, members
of Congress will have little time to resolve key funding differences as they
craft new legislation to replace the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century (TEA-21).
With such a short window of time for Congressional action,
it is critical that Americans understand the importance of increasing funding
for road, bridge and transit improvements under TEA-21 reauthorization. To this
end, The Road Information Program (TRIP) is intensifying its grassroots media
campaign to bring the reauthorization message to the states.
TRIP has conducted three grassroots reauthorization
campaigns so far in South Dakota, Maine and Alabama. In the coming months, TRIP
plans to release new TEA-21 reports in Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, New
Hampshire and North Carolina. The TEA-21 reports showcase the positive impact
of increased funding under TEA-21 and the potential benefits of a significant
increase in federal funding under TEA-21 reauthorization.
TRIP worked with the Associated General Contractors of South
Dakota to release a report July 29 at simultaneous news conferences in Sioux Falls
and Rapid City. The report generated prominent statewide news coverage of the
highway construction industry’s reauthorization messages. The Argus
Leader in Sioux Falls quoted South Dakota contractor and TRIP Director Mark
Knight, who participated in the news conference: “I would urge our
Congressional delegation to support a strong six-year highway bill that will
meet the needs, boost our economic development and improve mobility in South
Dakota for the safety of all our citizens.”
Two weeks later, TRIP teamed with the Associated
Constructors of Maine to release a report at news conferences in Portland and
Bangor. The report received statewide newspaper, broadcast and radio coverage.
Dana Connors, former state commissioner of transportation and current president
of Maine’s Chamber of Commerce who participated in the news conferences,
was quoted by the Portland Press Herald: “You can’t talk about
transportation without making the immediate link to our economy . . . It costs
a lot to build and maintain a good highway system, but it costs a lot more not
to.”
The grassroots reauthorization campaign then moved on to
Alabama, where TRIP, in partnership with the Alabama Road Builders Association
and the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, held news conferences in
Birmingham, Huntsville and Montgomery on Oct. 7. The TRIP report generated
statewide news coverage, and the Fox affiliate in Birmingham quoted Jefferson
County Commissioner Mary Buckelew: “We are running out of time. This extension
of reauthorization to the end of February gives us a short window here to get
together. Without increased federal funding for roads and bridges,
Alabama’s future looks grim.”
We want to release similar reauthorization reports in as
many states as we can before the March 1, 2004, deadline. TRIP is offering to
produce and release these reports in any state that will welcome us. If you
believe your Congressional delegation is influenced by what they see, hear and
read in their local news media, help bring TRIP into your state to release a
TEA-21 report.
