[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HIGHER PRIORITY NEEDED FOR TRANSPORTATION FUNDING

  (Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the NEXTEA proposal and the 
recent budget agreement fall short of fulfilling the Nation's, 
Pennsylvania's, and Montgomery County's transportation needs. Much more 
needs to be done to protect our highways, bridges, and transit systems. 
Roads such as route 309 through eastern Montgomery County, PA literally 
threaten the safety of my constituents. This road has one of the worst 
safety records for a highway of its kind in the State. We need to have 
the legislation adopted, this Shuster bill.
  Balancing the Federal budget is important. I have stood on the floor 
with my colleagues to make sure we pass balanced budgets to have 
deficit reduction, lower taxes, and tax limitations. However, within 
the overall budget framework, transportation needs to be given a higher 
priority if we are going to have any possibility of adequately funding 
the reauthorization of ISTEA and preventing any further injury and 
death on roads such as route 309 in Pennsylvania.
  I further urge my colleagues today to vote for the Shuster-Oberstar-
Petri-Rahall substitute to the budget resolution.

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