[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 60 (Monday, April 16, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SAFETEA-LU TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. HARRY E. MITCHELL

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 26, 2007

  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank our Chairman, James 
Oberstar, for his dedication to our Nation's highways, and for his 
willingness to work with me on an issue of great importance to Arizona 
as H.R. 1195 continues its way through the legislative process.
  H.R. 1195 makes technical corrections to the law that funds our 
Nation's highways: the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (``SAFETEA-LU'').
  Unfortunately, when the law was drafted, Arizona was left out of a 
key provision. That provision concerns the Federal funding share that 
is made available for certain highway projects.
  Under existing law, the Federal Government is supposed to assume a 
larger share for Federal highway projects in states with large 
proportions of Federal lands.
  Currently, SAFETEA-LU identifies 6 such states with large amounts of 
public land.
  Unfortunately, Arizona . . . which ranks 3rd in the Nation in public 
lands . . . was left off that list.
  I believe this was a mistake, and should be corrected along with all 
the other mistakes that H.R. 1195 addresses.
  At the time SAFETEA-LU was initially drafted, no one from Arizona 
served on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 
thus, there was no one to bring this omission to the Committee's 
attention.
  I am now proud to serve on that committee.
  When we marked up H.R. 1195 earlier this month, I offered an 
amendment to add Arizona to the list of states with large amounts of 
public lands which are supposed to receive a higher Federal share.
  My amendment was budget-neutral. It would have cost nothing. It would 
not have reduced any other state's highway funding. Rather, it would 
have merely given our state . . . a state with more public lands than 
47 other states . . . the flexibility it needs to allocate its Federal 
funding between our various highway projects.
  At the Chairman's request, and in exchange for his commitment to work 
with me on this issue as H.R. 1195 goes to conference comittee, I 
withdrew my amendment. I know the Chairman understands how important 
this is to Arizona, and I am grateful for his assistance.
  I would also like to publicly thank Senator Jon Kyl, who has been a 
champion of this issue for years. He has fought hard for this in the 
Senate, and I know he will do the same again this year. I look forward 
to working with him as well, for the good of Arizona, when the bill 
reaches conference committee.

                          ____________________