U.S. Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) ,chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, released statements following the May 8 Surface Transportation Bill Conference Meeting.
Their official statements follow:
Chairman Mica Statement
“We all share a commitment to build our nation’s infrastructure and this legislation must do so responsibly. It must be paid for, it must not raise taxes, it must not include earmarks, and it must not add to federal bureaucracy.
“In order to achieve this goal, we must include serious reforms of federal transportation programs to get projects moving and people back to work.
“Particularly in this current economic environment, there is no appetite to keep funneling money into programs in need of a major overhaul, unless we make necessary, meaningful reforms.
“I am concerned that the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund is at risk, however the solution to the Trust Fund solvency problem is not more deficit spending or General Fund transfers. The solution is major reform of programs, cutting wasteful spending and reigning in the federal bureaucracy.
