2003 ARTBA Annual Report

An overview and summary of ARTBA’s activites and accomplishments for the year 2003. ARTBA accomplishments during its 101 st year of service included:
– Leading the charge to ensure Congress rejected a proposed $8.6 billion cut in fiscal year (FY) 2003 federal highway funding. Congress approved $31.6 billion in February.
– Establishing $375 billion as the correct highway and transit investment needs target for a six-year reauthorization bill.
– Playing the industry’s principal leadership role on the reauthorization of the nation’s federal aviation programs. The new law-“Vision I 00: The Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act”-contains ARTBA AIR-21 Task Force-recommended provisions to boost federal airport construction and streamline the project approval and delivery process.
– Introduction in November and advancement of H.R. 3550, the six-year, $375 billion highway and transit reauthorization investment bill by the bipartisan House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The bill had nearly 90 co-sponsors by the end of the year.
– Helping build support for a $2.2 billion increase in federal highway funding in the FY 2004 budget appropriations process.
– Delivering more than 65 presentations around the country and hosting eight national meetings and conferences with a TEA-21 reauthorization focus.
Introduction of bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate to ensure ethanol based motor fuel sales-for the first time-contribute full user-fee revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, which would provide more than $2 billion annually for highway improvements. ARTBA played the lead role in building broad-based support from the transportation, agriculture and general business communities for enactment of the measure.