LANSING – Gov. Jennifer Granholm on June 29 told the Michigan Road Builders Association (MRBA) that it is urgent Congress pass a federal highway bill that returns a fair share of gas taxes back to Michigan so that the state will have the necessary resources to maintain its roads.

“Congress needs to immediately pass, and President Bush needs to sign, a federal highway bill that returns our fair share of gas taxes back to Michigan and provides us with the necessary resources to maintain our roads,” Granholm said. “Michigan has a lot at stake in the federal transportation reauthorization debate and, as the Congressional clock ticks away, we’re running the risk that they will leave for summer recess without getting the job done.”

The Governor said failure to pass a bill with the $318 billion in funding over six years approved by the U.S. Senate has already cost Michigan more than a quarter of a billion dollars in highway funding this year alone. Emphasizing that transportation funding is not a partisan issue, she noted that every member of our congressional delegation, Democrat and Republican, has recognized the need for additional transportation funding, with several members from Michigan co-sponsoring a bill to provide $375 billion over the same period of time.

“Sadly, the President has threatened to veto any bill that exceeds $256 billion, which would not even keep pace with inflation,” Granholm said. “At the president’s funding level, our commitment to preserve our roads and bridges is in serious jeopardy.”

The governor said President Bush’s position is troubling given comments he made on a recent visit to Michigan about the poor condition of our roads, while conveniently failing to acknowledge that he is the roadblock preventing the conferees from making any progress toward getting the reauthorization passed.

Granholm’s comments on the federal highway transportation bill are the latest action taken by the governor to highlight Michigan’s role as a donor state. Michigan currently only receives a return of 88 percent of the money taxpayers send to Washington earmarked for road work – ranking us at No. 47 in terms of equity received.