Transportation And Global Competitiveness Are Linked

Congress Needs to Reauthorize TEA 21 to Keep Our Economy Moving

March 6 , 2005

Contacts: Virginia Miller (202) 496-4816 vmiller@apta.com

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More than 700 public transportation leaders from across the United States are meeting in Washington, D.C. today and tomorrow to make the case for immediate passage of a long-term, fully-funded and guaranteed surface transportation bill to meet the country's growing transit and highway needs.

Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the conference started with a focus on the connection between a growing economy and a balanced transportation network that includes both transit and highway investments.

Today, APTA released two documents that make the business case for TEA 21 reauthorization. Also this morning, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue addressed America's transit leaders and stressed the connection between transportation and global competitiveness.

"Taken as a unit, our transportation network is an essential component of America's global competitiveness and can no longer be relegated to the back bench of U.S. public policy," said Donohue. "To make the economy go, we need our infrastructure -- it is the backbone on which the economy rides."

In his comments, Donohue pledged the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in pushing for reauthorization of a surface transportation bill.

"The U.S. Chamber will continue to play an active and aggressive role in promoting a transportation system that meets our economy's needs," said Donohue. "We will remind the public and Congress time and again that infrastructure is not disposable - it is a strategic asset that must continually be renewed and protected."

The first document, "Reauthorize TEA 21 Don't Slow America Down," demonstrates the importance of the $38 billion public transportation industry to America's economy. Without the reauthorization of TEA 21, employment will dip, profits will decline, construction time will be lost and movement of goods will be curtailed.

The second report, "Healthy Returns: The Economic Impact of Public Investment in Surface Transportation," states that "the prosperity, wealth and free movement that Americans enjoy today could not exist without decades of public investments in highways, roads, and bus and rail systems."

Authored by Dr. Kevin Hassett, a leading Republican economist, and Dr. Robert Shapiro, a leading Democratic economist, this report states that US. companies and individuals derive over $788 billion a year in direct economic benefits from using highways and public transportation to conduct business and commute to work.

Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Hassett will give a presentation on their findings tomorrow, March 8, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 538, from 4-5 p.m.

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APTA is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,500 member organizations including public transportation systems; planning, design, construction and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions, and state associations and departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical public transportation services and products. Over ninety percent of persons using public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA members.