Jasper Packard: “H.R. 2400, the Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act of 1997 (BESTEA), provides much-needed funding…”

“H.R. 2400, the Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act of 1997 (BESTEA), provides much-needed funding for the improvement and renewal of highways across the country. I support this legislation because, as I see it, it is the first step towards improving our infrastructure. However, I would like to share my concerns that this legislation does not provide taxpayers in states like California with a fair share in federal transportation funding. This is an issue that we cannot ignore and must address in the near future. Under BESTEA, Californians will pay $22 billion towards federal highway funding, but will only be guaranteed $19 billion in return. We must stop asking California taxpayers to pay for highway and infrastructure improvements that they may never see. They should not constantly be forced to sacrifice their hard-earned money to projects in some other town, in some other state. As it stands, communities throughout California are struggling to maintain their infrastructure. For many quickly growing communities, it is nearly impossible to keep up, and this is not only unfair for taxpayers, it is becoming unsafe. Mr. Chairman, while I support BESTEA, I urge my colleagues to keep California and other 'donor states' across the country in mind when voting on this and related legislation. Let's not wait to address this dilemma and find a funding formula that is fair for California taxpayers.”