Elijah Cummings: “today, we are poised to enact our seventh extension of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA- 21).…”

“today, we are poised to enact our seventh extension of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA- 21). This Act was originally set to expire in September 2003. Unfortunately, after nearly two years of consideration, Congress has been unable to pass a new reauthorization measure. I truly hope that this is the last extension we have to pass. The transportation reauthorization guides all federal spending on highways and transit systems. The delay in enactment of this legislation has left states and transit systems uncertain about the funding they will have. As a result, they have delayed critical constructions projects-- and good paying jobs have been lost. State departments of transportation reported at the end of last year that collectively they had already delayed the implementation of more than $2 billion worth of highway and transit projects, which has caused nearly 90,000 job opportunities to be lost. The delay in implementation of transportation construction projects is also causing the traveling public to suffer. The new 2005 Urban Mobility Report published by the Texas Transportation Institute found that drivers now waste nearly 4 billion hours and $63 billion waiting in congestion. The only way to reduce this congestion and to create new jobs is for states to build the new roads and transit projects they need--and states cannot do that until the federal government meets its responsibility and commits funding for these projects to the states.…”