AGC Member Testifies Before Small Business Panel on Transportation Reauthorization

Jack Mills, President of Plum Contracting, Inc., located in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, testified today before the House Small Business Committee's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight on the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill.  Mills testified on behalf of AGC and called on Congress to pass a multi-year bill to replace SAFETEA-LU, set to expire on September 30, as well as an immediate fix to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund has the cash balance it needs to continue making daily reimbursements to state departments of transportation.   The U.S. Department of Transportation has found that the balance of the fund will fall below the minimum cash level necessary to make daily payments by the end of August.  Mills explained the cash flow implications that contractors would face under this circumstance.  U.S. DOT and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have estimated that the fund needs an additional $7-8 billion to finish fiscal year 2009 and an additional $10 billion for fiscal year 2010.   Congress is also currently considering whether to pass an extension of SAFETEA-LU of up to 18 months in lieu of multi-year reauthorization bill.  The Administration supports an 18-month extension, and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved such a measure on Wednesday.  Mills urged Congress to reject an 18-month extension and to continue working towards a multi-year bill.  Mills called on Congress to boost investment in surface transportation funded by an increase in the motor fuels user fee, as well as improved highway work zone safety provisions and incentives to contractors to retrofit their diesel-powered equipment. During the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Ranking Member Mary Fallin (R-Okla.) indicated their opposition to an 18-month extension.  Both are also members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is currently debating a multi-year reauthorization bill, the Surface Transportation Authorization Act.