Highway Users Alliance Commends Senate on Highway Bill Passage

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the American Highway Users Alliance applauded the Senate for passing MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century) by a vote of 74 to 22.  The next step is for the House to pass its own highway bill that can be reconciled with the Senate's.

Highway Users President and CEO Greg Cohen remarked, "The Highway Users commends the Senate for passing a highway bill that will be a huge benefit for motorists.  The bill provides much-needed stability for our nation's aging infrastructure and ensures that urgent road construction and rehabilitation won't be stalled at motorists' peril.  Significant reforms within the legislation include the consolidation of duplicative programs, streamlined federal environmental reviews, a new focus on highway freight corridors, and a doubling of funding for roadway safety projects.

"Passage of the Senate highway bill proves that Congress is still capable of enacting commonsense, bipartisan legislation that benefits every American from coast-to-coast.  This legislation is critical for rural, suburban, and urban citizens alike.  The country's roads and bridges are our economic arteries.  Safety and mobility improvements on our highways are essential to America's long-term recovery and our quality-of-life."

Overall the Highway Users supports MAP-21, but we continue to raise objections to certain provisions in the Commerce titles of the bill that add new planning burdens on the States and could raise consumer costs for automobile purchases.  We also oppose a provision that would allow unsubstantiated auto safety complaints to be publicly released prior to engineering investigations.  The Highway Users urges House Members to avoid these problematic provisions when it debates its own version of the bill. 

"We hope that the House will pass its own version of the highway bill without further delay," said Cohen.  "We look forward to working with Members and their staff to ensure final enactment of a robust highway bill that ensures the safety and efficiency of our nation's highways and bridges."

The American Highway Users Alliance represents motorists, RV enthusiasts, truckers, buses, motorcyclists, and a broad cross-section of businesses that depend on safe and efficient highways to transport their families, customers, employees, and products. Highway Users members pay the taxes that finance the federal highway program and advocate public policies that dedicate those taxes to improved highway safety and mobility.

SOURCE American Highway Users Alliance