[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS SAVE LIVES

  (Mrs. KELLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, 42,000 Americans were killed in automobile 
accidents in 1995 and 1996, an increase of 2,500 fatalities since 1992.
  The Federal Highway Administration says that road design and 
conditions contributed to 30 percent of those fatalities, which means 
that approximately 12,000 lives could have been saved by investing in 
better roads.
  Highway improvements save lives. Eighty percent of all travel occurs 
on the Nation's highways, which means investing in better and safer 
roads is the single most dramatic step we can take in protecting the 
lives of our Nation's motorists.
  The millions of dollars paid into the highway trust fund each year 
from our motorists is done with the expectation that it will be used 
not only to maintain but to improve the safety of the Nation's 
highways. This is not being done. Using the monies entrusted to us by 
the people for their intended purpose, the Shuster-Oberstar-Petri-
Rahall amendment gives us the opportunity to fulfill our obligation to 
provide the safest roads possible for every man, woman, and child 
traveling on them.
  In the name of safer roads, I encourage my colleagues to join me in 
supporting the Shuster-Oberstar-Petri-Rahall amendment on the budget 
resolution.

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