Russ Feingold: “today, Congress is finally completing work on a bill to reauthorize the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century.…”

“today, Congress is finally completing work on a bill to reauthorize the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century. This bill has been a long time coming and while it is 668 days overdue, for Wisconsin it may have been worth the wait. I am pleased that Wisconsin will now have a chance to address our State's vital transportation needs for the next year and plan its priorities for the next 5 years. I am even more pleased that this conference report builds on the precedent set under TEA-21, where Wisconsin, after decades of not getting our fair share, finally started to receive at least as much in highway funding as we pay to the Federal Government. During this summer travel season, the people of Wisconsin should be happy to know that their tax dollars will be used to improve Wisconsin's roads, bridges, trails, rails and transit system. While the bill is not perfect, it goes a long way toward ending Wisconsin's decades-long legacy as a donor State. Historically, Wisconsin's taxpayers have received about 78 cents for every dollar we have paid into the highway trust fund. As a result, we have lost more than $625 million between 1956 and when TEA-21 was passed in 1998. Under TEA-21, the previous 6-year highway authorization, Wisconsin received approximately 102 cents for every dollar it paid contributed to the highway trust fund through gasoline taxes.…”