"This agreement would give us a greater return on our federal gas tax dollars than we've been getting over the last five years. Currently, Iowa receives 1.17 percent of the trust fund. This bill would increase us to about 1.32 percent. The result is significantly more federal highway money for Iowa. This can advance many current projects and allow IDOT to add new highway projects," Grassley said.
The Iowa senator also said he was glad to see prompter action on the highway bill, after Congress failed to complete work on the legislation last year. "State governments must enter long-term contracts to build roads and bridges. To maximize taxpayers' dollars, it's important for state highway departments to have as much information as possible, as early as possible, about what the federal government's commitment will be," Grassley said.
The Senate proposal contains an additional $450 million in spending on for the NAFTA trade corridor. Grassley said some of this funding could end up in Iowa. "Getting more highway money to Iowa will greatly enhance our state's economic base and job creation. Increasing the federal contribution to revitalizing Iowa's infrastructure is good news for manufacturing, urban development, commerce, tourism, agriculture, and the rural economy," he said.
The Senate proposal for the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act -- known as ISTEA -- also contains Grassley's bi-partisan plan to extend the ethanol tax incentive to the year 2007.
Federal highway dollars help states build highways, bridges, and recreation trails such as biking and walking paths. Overall, the new Senate ISTEA bill provides contract authority for spending in the amount of $171.29 billion over six years on highways and $1.7 billion on highway safety, for a total funding level of $208.7 billion over six years.