[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 3 (Friday, January 7, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HIGHWAY TRUST FUND

  (Mr. BISHOP of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Speaker, the Republican rules package 
passed Wednesday included a change that could be extremely damaging to 
our Nation's highway and transit systems over the long term--and to the 
construction industry, where record unemployment remains twice the 
national average. Simply put, this rule is a job killer.
  The new rule will treat highway trust fund revenue as general 
spending, tearing down firewalls that prevent funds from being siphoned 
off for unrelated projects. Removing the ``trust'' in the highway trust 
fund will severely inhibit States' ability to plan large, multiyear 
transportation projects to improve this Nation's aging infrastructure 
over the long term and to create construction jobs in the process.
  But don't take my word for it. The rule change is also opposed by 
business, labor, and industry organizations alike, such as the U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce, the American Association of State Highway and 
Transportation Officials, the Associated General Contractors of 
America, and the American Trucking Association.
  Madam Speaker, this is the wrong time to back away from investments 
in our infrastructure and job creation; yet this is exactly what will 
result from this job-killing rule.

                          ____________________