ATSSA Signal Nov/Dec 2018

American Traffic Safety Services Association 4 Government Relations The House Transportation & Infra- structure (T&I) Committee has released a draft of an infrastructure funding package that includes elements that are in line with ATSSA’s mission to advance roadway safety. The draft proposal includes user fees as a means to ensure long-term solven- cy for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). “ATSSA applauds Chairman Bill Shuster’s commitment and leadership in propos- ing ways to increase user fees for the Highway Trust Fund,” said ATSSA’s Pres- ident and CEO Roger Wentz in a June 24 statement on the proposal. “These in- creases, along with the focus on expe- diting project delivery, are critical to meeting our country’s transportation infrastructure needs. It cannot be over- stated as to how important a fully fund- ed, solvent Highway Trust Fund is to the safety of all road users. We strongly support this effort to address the loom- ing transportation fiscal cliff.” While the language for HTF solvency was included in the package, Wentz be- lieves more could have been outlined in the proposal to address additional funding for roadway safety infrastruc- ture projects. “We are disappointed that the discussion draft only proposes additional funding for the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program and not roadway safety infrastructure projects. Given the prov- en importance and safety gains from the Highway Safety Improvement Pro- gram (HSIP) since its creation, the cur- rent proposal does not highlight the need for increasing these critical invest- ments that save lives every day across this country. Although additional fund- ing into the Highway Trust Fund should increase the funding levels of core pro- grams such as HSIP, this discussion draft should take the lead of the House Fiscal Year 2019 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropri- ations legislation and include additional Next steps in transportation and infrastructure General Fund funding for safety,” said Wentz in his June 24 statement. When speaking to the draft, Wentz ex- pressed ATSSA’s commitment to work- ing with the T&I Committee to ensure the infrastructure package addresses critical roadway safety needs that will save lives on the nation’s roadways. “Increased investments for the Highway Safety Improvement Program are the linchpin for making dramatic reductions to the more than 37,000 men, women, and children who are killed on U.S. roads annually. If additional investments for safety infrastructure or expanded eligi- bility were included in the proposal, it would be a win-win for the American people: creating good-paying American jobs and saving lives in every congres- sional district. We look forward to con- tinuing to work with the Committee to ensure that any infrastructure package is focused on making a robustly funded Highway Trust Fund solvent and signifi- cantly increasing investments in roadway safety infrastructure,” said Wentz. Infrastructure funding package draft includes user fees for Highway Trust Fund