[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1087-E1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE HIGHWAY BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 10, 1998

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
Report for Wednesday, June 3, 1998 into the Congressional Record.

                  Improving Our Transportation System

       Last week, Congress, with my support, significantly boosted 
     investment in our nation's transportation system by passing a 
     six-year highway bill. This bill increases federal funding 
     for transportation by 40%, and provides special funding for 
     key projects in southern Indiana, including the Ohio River 
     bridges project in the greater Louisville area and the U.S. 
     231 project in Spencer County. This highway bill will improve 
     the quality of services throughout our state, and is one of 
     the most important pieces of legislation for Indiana in 
     decades.
       The measure includes funding for construction and 
     maintenance of highways and bridges, highway safety programs, 
     and expansion of mass transit systems. It will also help 
     improve air quality, enhance recreational bike and pedestrian 
     trials, assist current and former welfare recipients get to 
     work, and further innovative ``intelligent transportation'' 
     projects to help move our transportation system into the 21st 
     century.
       The transportation bill is of vital importance to Indiana. 
     Maintaining the 93,198 miles of highway in Indiana is a 
     difficult challenge, but the highway bill will help us 
     improve the network of roads and bridges in our state.


                        The Need for Good Roads

       Indiana is known as the ``crossroads of America'', a few 
     other states are as dependent on highways. Economic 
     development is not possible without good infrastructure. It 
     helps businesses grow and expand and means more jobs for 
     Hoosiers. I often hear from Hoosier business leaders about 
     how the improvement of a local road has helped community 
     businesses and community development.
       Across our state, however, we can see a lot of problems 
     with the condition of our roads. According to one recent 
     study, 57% of Indiana roads are rated as being in poor, 
     mediocre, or fair condition. There are two primary reasons 
     for this situation. First, a growing Indiana population means 
     more drivers and higher road use, causing more wear and tear 
     on the roads. Second, over the years, funding for highways 
     has persistently lagged far behind the amount needed just to 
     maintain top condition. The combination of these two forces--
     more drivers and less money--has made the upkeep of our 
     highways difficult.
       The concern is that without greater investment in our 
     transportation system, the long-term prospects for our 
     economy will suffer. The global competitiveness of our 
     economy depends in large part on the efficiency of our 
     infrastructure, especially transportation. Our ability to 
     move goods and services to market must be second to none.


                           Funding Increases

       The bill will benefit Indiana in two important ways. First, 
     the bill boosts our overall share of federal highway funds. 
     Under the old highway formula, Indiana and other so-called 
     ``donor'' states were paying in more in go as taxes than what 
     they were receiving in federal highway funds, and were 
     thereby subsidizing highway spending in other ``donee'' 
     states. In particular, Indiana was getting back about 78 
     cents from every dollar of gas pump taxes. The new highway 
     bill, however, changes the formula so that every state is 
     guaranteed a 90.5% return in highway funding on gas taxes 
     paid by the state. Indiana's share under the new bill equals 
     about 91%.
       Second, the highway bill increases overall funding for the 
     federal highway program by 40% over current levels. It 
     provides $204 billion over six years for all transportation 
     programs, including $167 billion for highways. As a result of 
     the new formula and the bill's higher spending levels, 
     Indiana will receive an average of $617 million annually, 
     which is a 52% increase over the approximately $405 million 
     Indiana received on average from 1992-1997. This increased 
     funding will likely accelerate major highway and bridge 
     projects in southern Indiana and throughout the state.
       The bill will benefit our state and the nation in other 
     ways as well. Mass transit projects, including commuter rail 
     and bus systems, will receive at least $36 billion over six 
     years. Also, a total of $500 million in grants has been set 
     aside for states which implement anti-drunk driving 
     initiatives.


                       Southern Indiana Projects

       Passage of the highway bill will help meet the 
     infrastructure needs of southern Indiana

[[Page E1088]]

     and provides special funding for three important initiatives 
     in our region. First, the bill includes $40 million for the 
     Ohio River Major Investment Study (ORMIS) project, which will 
     entail construction of two new bridges in the greater 
     Louisville area as well as building Spaghetti Junction in 
     downtown Louisville. The funding will enable Indiana and 
     Kentucky, working jointly on the project, to complete 
     required design work on the project and begin acquisition of 
     right-of-way.
       Second, the highway bill includes $600,000 for continued 
     design work on the U.S. 231 project in Spencer County. This 
     project involves the construction of a new four-lane highway 
     linking I-64 in Indiana with the Natcher Bridge and the 
     Kentucky Parkway system to the south. Indiana has completed 
     initial environmental work on the project, and aims to move 
     to construction by 2001.
       Third, the highway measure includes at least $27 million 
     for continued work on the I-69 project, which will connect 
     Indianapolis to Evansville. The new highway promises to bring 
     growth and development to the southwestern portion of the 
     state and to provide the Evansville area with a critical link 
     to Indiana's interstate system.


                               Assessment

       I believe the highway bill takes an important step in 
     meeting our crucial transportation needs in Indiana and 
     throughout the nation. One recent study pegged the cost of 
     bringing our nation's transportation system into top 
     condition at $437 billion, including $80 billion to repair 
     the one of every three bridges in the nation that is 
     structurally deficient. This measure will help us start to 
     address these critical problems.
       I am especially pleased that the highway bill achieves a 
     more equitable distribution of revenues from the gas tax, 
     thus sending more resources back to the states and increasing 
     the flexibility of state and local governments to meet their 
     most pressing transportation needs. The Indiana congressional 
     delegation has worked in a bi-partisan fashion over the years 
     to address this problem, and these efforts have now paid off.
       Investment in our infrastructure is vital to maintaining 
     the high quality of life Hoosiers and all Americans have come 
     to expect. An excellent highway system will make our economy 
     more productive and more competitive. The highway bill 
     recently approved by Congress serves those important goals.

     

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