ATSSA President & CEO Roger Wentz makes statement on House T&I infrastructure discussion

(Washington, D.C.) - ATSSA President & CEO Roger Wentz has issued a statement following the release of the House of Representatives’ Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s draft of an infrastructure funding package.

Wentz applauded the proposal’s inclusion of user fees to provide long-term solvency for the Highway Trust Fund.

“ATSSA applauds Chairman Bill Shuster’s commitment and leadership in proposing ways in which to increase user fees for the Highway Trust Fund,” stated ATSSA’s President and CEO Roger Wentz. “These increases, along with the focus on expediting project delivery, are critical to meeting our country’s transportation infrastructure needs. It cannot be overstated as to how important a fully-funded, solvent Highway Trust Fund is to the safety of all road users. We strongly support this effort to address the looming transportation fiscal cliff.”

Wentz believes more could have been done in the proposal to address needed additional funding for roadway safety infrastructure projects.

“We are disappointed that the discussion draft only proposes additional funding for the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program and not roadway safety infrastructure projects. Given the proven importance and safety gains from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) since its creation, the current proposal does not highlight the need for increasing these critical investments that save lives every day across this country. Although additional funding into the Highway Trust Fund should increase the funding levels of core programs such as HSIP, this discussion draft should take the lead of the House Fiscal Year 2019 THUD Appropriations legislation and include additional General Fund funding for safety,” said Wentz.

When speaking to the draft, Wentz expressed ATSSA’s commitment to working with the committee to ensure the infrastructure package addresses critical roadway safety needs that will save lives on the nation’s roadways.

“Increased investments for the Highway Safety Improvement Program are the linchpin for making dramatic reductions to the more than 37,000 men, women, and children who are killed on US roads annually. If additional investments for safety infrastructure or expanded eligibility were included in the proposal, it would be a win-win for the American people: creating good-paying American jobs and saving lives in every congressional district. We look forward to continuing to work with the Committee to ensure that any infrastructure package is focused on making a robustly-funded Highway Trust Fund solvent and significantly increasing investments in roadway safety infrastructure,” said Wentz.