Leaders of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association today expressed disappointment that President Bush's FY '09 budget request proposes funding highways at $39.4 billion, almost $2 billion less than the funding level of $41.2 prescribed by the surface transportation law, the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), for FY '09.

NSSGA Chairman of the Board Louis Griesemer, Springfield Underground, Springfield, Mo., said, "The Minnesota bridge collapse should have served as a wake-up call that we continue to ignore the condition of our nation's transportation infrastructure at our own risk. Improving our transportation systems puts people to work and to reduce funding in a softening economy makes no sense. We should be investing more in our nation's surface transportation infrastructure. At the very least, transportation improvements should be at the level prescribed by SAFETEA-LU in FY '09."

"The administration's budget for transportation is a disappointment to all Americans. At a time when the economy is slowing and the administration and Congress are working on an economic stimulus plan, it is hard to understand recommending further cuts in funding for system improvements," said NSSGA President and CEO Joy Wilson. "The manufacturing sector has lost 269,000 jobs over the past 12 months, and 28,000 jobs in January alone. For every $1 billion invested in highways, 47,500 jobs are created. How can we ignore the economic benefits provided by investing in our nation's surface transportation infrastructure?"

NSSGA held a fly-in last week to focus on highway funding. Fly-in participants urged members of Congress to fund highways at the level provided in SAFETEA-LU for FY '09. NSSGA members also urged Congress to address the predicted short-fall in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) expected by the expiration of SAFETEA-LU on Sept. 30, 2009. In addition, NSSGA President Joy Wilson wrote members of the Senate Finance Committee to urge inclusion of a highway component in the economic stimulus.

Wilson said NSSGA will continue to work for full funding of highways in FY 2009 in accordance with SAFETEA-LU, and to build momentum for increased investment in America's transportation infrastructure and a new vision of transportation for the 21st Century.

Based near the nation's capital, NSSGA is the world's largest mining association by product volume. Its member companies represent more than 90 percent of the crushed stone and 70 percent of the sand and gravel produced annually in the U.S. and approximately 118,000 working men and women in the aggregates industry. During 2006, a total of about 2.95 billion metric tons of crushed stone, sand and gravel, valued at $21 billion, were produced and sold in the United States.