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SAFETEA-LU Signed in Illinois

President George Bush this week tied together a message of jobs and safety as he signed the six-year reauthorization of federal highway and transit programs in Aurora, Illinois on Wednesday.

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) will provide $286.4 billion in guaranteed spending for highways, rail and transit programs over six years.

Bush appeared before a crowd of approximately 3,000 people for an outdoor ceremony outside the Caterpillar, Inc. manufacturing facility in the home district of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who introduced him at the ceremony.

Bush told spectators, "I'm here to sign the highway bill because I believe by signing this bill, when it's fully implemented, there's going to be more demand for the machines you make here. And because there's more demand for the machines you make here, there's going to be more jobs created around places like this facility."

Bush continued, "This bill is going to help modernize the highway system and improve quality of life for a lot of people. And these projects will require workers. Highways just don't happen; people have got to show up and do the work to refit a highway or build a bridge. And they need new equipment to do so. So the bill I'm signing is going to help give hundreds of thousands of Americans good paying jobs."

Joining the president and the Speaker were Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee; Christopher "Kit" Bond, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee; Representative Tom Petri (R-WI), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines; Representative James Oberstar, Ranking Minority Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; and U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. Also on hand were members of Illinois' congressional delegation, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman William Thomas (R-CA), Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley

Safety Theme a Backdrop for Signing

Backed by a banner reading "Improving Highway Safety Across America," Bush said that the legislation is "more than just a highway bill. It's a safety bill. The American people expect us to provide them with the safest possible transportation system, and this bill helps fulfill that obligation. This law makes our highways and mass transit systems safer and better, and it will help more people find work. And it accomplishes goals in a fiscally responsible way."

He added, "This bill upgrades our transportation infrastructure, and it will help save lives. The bill establishes a safety belt incentive grant program, which will provide incentives for states to adopt laws that increase seat belt usage. Under this bill, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will set stability standards to help prevent vehicle rollovers."

Finally Bush concluded that the bill "accomplishes goals in a fiscally responsible way" without raising the federal gasoline tax.

Bush critics and fiscal conservatives pounded the President for "giving in" to Congressional demands for higher spending. Bush's proposal in 2002 for a $256 billion measure was met in Congress with passage of a $375 billion bill in the House and a $318 billion bill in the Senate. The Administration and Congressional leaders were unable to reach a compromise during the politically charged fall of 2004, and the bill died in conference at the end of the year.

When the 109th Congress convened in January, the Administration upped its proposal to $284 billion, higher than the prior proposal, but $15 billion lower than the last offer left on the conference table at the end of 2004. The Administration was able to rein in the House, however, with Speaker Hastert's leadership, securing passage there of a $284 billion bill. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee also reported out a bill at that level, but the amount was increased on the Senate floor, with the help of the Senate Finance Committee, to $295 billion.

The Administration ultimately agreed to a modest increase during conference to $286.4 billion in guaranteed spending and $295 billion in contract authority, with an $8.54 billion rescission applicable at the end of the six-year measure in 2009.

Hastert Commends Jobs, Defends Spending Constraints

Joining the President on stage at the bill signing, Speaker Hastert praised the President's stance on keeping transportation spending "fiscally responsible." Hastert said, "The President understood the importance of this bill, and he also understood the importance of keeping within a budget. Not everyone agreed with his stance. But as we've seen time and again, this President does not waver or lose his focus. He understands the most important challenges are often the most difficult. And because of that commitment, today he will sign legislation that not only meets our nation's transportation needs but is also fiscally responsible."

Hastert highlighted the need for long-term transportation authorization by telling of how important it is in his district, which lies outside Chicago. "Sixty-seven percent of our nation's freight moves through Chicago and onto our nation's highways. Economists believe that our ability to move our products is directly tied to the strength of our economy. In the era of just-in-time delivery, it's unacceptable that traffic congestion currently affects 33 percent of all travel and leads to 3.6 billion hours of delay each year. This bill keeps our people and our products moving."

Before a cheering crowd that included hundreds of factory workers, Hastert said, "There is perhaps no more appropriate location for the signing of this historic bill than here at Caterpillar. As you can see from the products that surround us, this facility is where CAT manufactures the equipment that is used to build our roads, highways, and bridges. Economists estimate that for every billion dollars spent on road construction, nearly 48,000 jobs will be created. The workers here today represent the hundreds of thousands of employees across the nation who will benefit from the new jobs, expansions and other economic growth that this bill will bring.