AEM Urges Congress to Reauthorize TEA-21
May 4, 2005 — AEM has issued a resolution for the U.S. Senate to consider reauthorization of TEA-21 transportation funding legislation as soon as possible and to complete work on the bill by the current program's expiration date of May 31, 2005. This is the sixth extension of TEA-21 transportation legislation, which originally expired on September 30, 2003. Its guaranteed funding levels will represent about half of the total money that will be made available for highway and transit capital investment through 2009.
Current TEA-21 program expires May 31, 2005.
In March, the House approved a reauthorization bill, which would provide $284 billion for these programs. The Senate bill is S. 732 SAFETEA, and exact funding levels to be proposed in the final bill are not yet known.
According to the AEM, the legislation will help ensure stability and growth in the transportation construction industry, and it also is critical to the entire nation's economy. “America needs a multi-year bill to show federal commitment to sustaining the maintenance and repair of our nation's highway and transit systems,” said AEM President Dennis Slater. “We also need to provide assurance to our machinery customers that funds will be there to allow them to make timely capital investments in new equipment.”
