Labor groups in Georgia pressed Thursday for Congress to resolve its deadlock over federal transportation funding, using as their prop a mock-up of a school bus crushed by a fallen piece of bridge.
“It’s an issue that affects all Georgians,” said state Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson, D-Tucker, who joined Georgia AFL-CIO President Charlie Flemming and others at a quick stop by the bus at the state Capitol in Atlanta. The bus is part of a national tour by the Laborers’ International Union of North America to draw attention to a stalemate in Washington over the Federal Highway Trust Fund.
The fund, which is fueled by a federal tax on gasoline of 18. 4 cents a gallon and a tax on diesel fuel of 24.4 cents a gallon, pays for transportation programs nationwide, including those that maintain and replace aging bridges and highways. It's running out of money, however, and federal officials have said that by the first week in August the fund will no longer have enough money to cover promised aid to states.
That includes Georgia, where business leaders recently announced plans to push for more state spending on transportation in part to wean the state from its reliance on federal dollars. State leaders, too, are searching for a solution, with a legislative committee expected to recommend ways around the state's transportation funding challenges by Nov. 30.
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