HJR 40: Supporting funding for federal highway programs.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40 01 Supporting funding for federal highway programs. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS the budget plan proposed for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 04 2002, by President George W. Bush seeks to reduce the appropriation to the Federal Highway 05 Administration by $8,500,000,000; and 06 WHEREAS the proposed reduction of funding for federal highway programs by more 07 than 25 percent, from the $32,100,000,000 that is currently available during this federal fiscal 08 year, will substantially reduce the amount of money available to the states, including Alaska, 09 for highway construction under the federal-aid highway program administered by the Federal 10 Highway Administration; and 11 WHEREAS a safe and efficient highway system is essential to maintain the free flow 12 of goods and people in interstate and intrastate commerce and safe transportation systems for 13 the traveling public; and 14 WHEREAS continued support for federal highway programs that are critical to 15 maintenance of a sound transportation system is essential to speeding economic recovery 16 throughout the nation; and
01 WHEREAS 40,000 jobs are created throughout the nation for each $1,000,000,000 02 that is expended for highways; and 03 WHEREAS thousands of jobs throughout the nation, including Alaska, will be lost as 04 the result of the reduction in funding for federal highway programs that is proposed by 05 President Bush; and 06 WHEREAS U.S. Senator James M. Jeffords, chair of the United States Senate 07 Committee on Environment and Public Works, and U.S. Representative Don Young, chair of 08 the United States House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 09 have each introduced legislation to restore about $4,400,000,000 in funding for federal 10 highway programs; and 11 WHEREAS there is a cash surplus of $20,000,000,000 in the federal highway trust 12 fund to provide the funds for the additional expenditures for federal highway programs that 13 are proposed in the legislation proposed by Senator Jeffords and Representative Young; and 14 WHEREAS the surplus in the federal highway trust fund is anticipated to grow to 15 $74,000,000,000 in 10 years; 16 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests President 17 George W. Bush to reconsider the reductions that are proposed in the budget plan for federal 18 highway programs for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2002, and to restore 19 funding for federal highway programs to current levels; and be it 20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the legislation 21 introduced by U.S. Senator James M. Jeffords and U.S. Representative Don Young to restore 22 at least $4,400,000,000 in funding for federal highway programs for the federal fiscal year 23 beginning October 1, 2002, and urges the Congress to pass the legislation, if funding for 24 federal highway programs is not restored to current levels. 25 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, The 26 President of the United States; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President Pro Tempore, U.S. 27 Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 28 Honorable James M. Jeffords, Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public 29 Works; the Honorable Don Young, Chair, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on 30 Transportation and Infrastructure; the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, U.S. Secretary of 31 Transportation; Mary E. Peters, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.
01 Department of Transportation; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank 02 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.