Friday, February 27, 2004
Contact: Robert Johnson, 202-366-4570
DOT 20-04
Statement of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta
On Urgent Need for Senate Passage of Surface Transportation Reauthorization
Extension by Midnight Sunday Night, Feb. 29, 2004
The U.S. Department of Transportation faces a menacing deadline this weekend
that only the U.S. Senate can help it meet. At midnight Sunday, vital
transportation construction and safety programs will come to a stop if Senators
do not act immediately to give the Department the authority to continue paying
employees responsible for those critical activities.
The current extension of the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) passed last fall
by Congress will expire Sunday night. Without another extension, I will be
forced to furlough about 5,000 employees, most of them working in offices
located in all 50 states. Without an extension, today could be their last day on
the job until funding resumes.
The impact of missing the extension deadline could lead to serious problems in
the days ahead. It could halt the flow of federal dollars to hundreds of highway
construction projects now underway across America. It could delay federal
approval of new projects. And it could slow the ability of states to make debt
payments.
Without these employees, we won’t be able to assist with safety inspections of
trucks crossing our borders. We would have to defer safety compliance reviews
conducted to make sure motor carriers are following safety regulations. We would
be unable to handle consumer complaints against household goods movers. And
several federal motorist safety programs would be put on hold.
If the Senate fails to pass an extension, about 5,000 employees would be off the
job Monday morning and the important work they do on behalf of the American
people would come to a stand-still. The Senate must pass a transportation bill
extension today, allowing the Department of Transportation to continue its
mission and resume its efforts to pass a long-term reauthorization bill.
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