Sen. Ron Wyden Featured on National Web TV Channel

Sen. Ron Wyden Featured on National Web TV Channel

Oregon Leader Stresses Jobs and Funding During Candid Conversation

WASHINGTON, May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) first came up with the idea of creating a Build America Bonds program more than four years ago, but the innovative financial solution didn't become a reality until last February, when President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"All across the country, municipal authorities are looking at this as a more-effective tool," Wyden said during his five-minute video segment on the "View from the Hill" channel of Transportation TV. "Based on the prospects for the next two years - the period in which this legislation covers - there is a chance for perhaps $40 billion worth of bonds to be issued."

A member of the powerful Senate Finance committee, Wyden and co-sponsor former U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.) introduced a proposal in February 2005 to create a Build America Bonds program that would have provided $30 billion in additional Federal transportation funding to cash-strapped states to complete critical infrastructure projects. The thirty-year bonds would have been available to corporate and individual investors for purchase in different denominations. States' transportation officials would have used the funds in addition to the dollars they received through the transportation bill Congress writes every six years.

The bond program was never approved but after pushing again this year to include such a provision in the ARRA, Wyden's idea finally took hold. Under ARRA, the bonds offer a federal tax credit to purchasers or a cash rebate to issuers, making them an attractive investment while helping states and localities raise badly needed revenue for highway and transit maintenance, repairs, and new construction.

Wyden stressed on Transportation TV, the importance of the federal government investing more money into building a better transportation system for America. "You cannot have in this country big-league quality of life with little-league transportation," he said.

Regarding the upcoming congressional authorization of federal transportation programs for the next six years, Wyden acknowledges it will be a challenge to achieve adequate funding levels among competing priorities such as fixing the tax code, reforming healthcare, and addressing the nation's energy needs. But, he adds, "This is a very good time to talk about the importance of transportation."

The video is available at www.TransportationTV.org -- providing news, commentary, and information on key transportation issues.

Source: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

CONTACT: Tony Dorsey, American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials, +1-202-624-3690

Web Site: http://www.transportation.org/
http://www.transportationtv.org/

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