[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            THE INTRODUCTION OF SPIRIT CORRIDOR LEGLISLATION

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                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 4, 2003

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to 
rise today to introduce companion legislation to a bill being 
introduced by Senator Bingaman of New Mexico in the Senate. I am also 
very pleased that my colleagues Mr. Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mr. Frank 
Lucas of Oklahoma, Mr. Mac Thomberry and Mr. Silvestre Reyes both of 
Texas, and Mr. Steve Pearce, one of my colleagues in the New Mexico 
delegation, have joined me in introducing this legislation.
  This important bill seeks to designate U.S. Highway 54 as a high 
priority corridor on the National Highway System. The corridor would be 
known as the Southwest Passage Initiative for Regional and Interstate 
Transportation Corridor, or the SPIRIT Corridor. U.S. 54 runs from the 
border with Mexico at El Paso, Texas, through New Mexico, Texas, and 
Oklahoma, to Wichita, Kansas. I am very hopeful that this legislation 
will help improve transportation infrastructure and stimulate economic 
development in the communities and states through which U.S. Highway 54 
passes.
  Mr. Speaker, those who live in the eastern United States know that 
communities are more compact and the commutes much shorter. For the 
intermountain west, on the other hand, it is not unheard of for people 
to have to commute 80 miles to work and 80 miles back home. That is 
just one of the reasons designating U.S. 54 as a high priority corridor 
is so important to improving the transportation infrastructure and 
promoting economic development. Safe and efficient highways are 
critical to all types of traffic, whether it be tourists visiting or 
goods being shipped from point to point. Designating U.S. 54 as a High 
Priority Corridor will make it eligible for additional federal grants 
and transportation funds, which will, in turn, help upgrade the highway 
and improve its safety and efficiency.
  As Congress prepares to reauthorize TEA-21, I strongly urge the House 
and Senate to support this bill and add the SPIRIT Corridor to the list 
of high priority corridors in our National Highway System.

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