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2009 Economic Stimulus


AAA’s Comments about the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”

In a letter dated January 21, 2009, AAA provided several points to the U.S. Senate on how to best use funding from the stimulus package to help ensure the investment will meet Americans’ expectations for mobility, safety, efficiency, environmental sustainability and economic growth.

Click here to read the letter from Kathleen F. Marvaso, AAA’s vice president of Public Affairs, to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.




Transportation’s Importance to Short-term Economic Recovery

AAA is pleased that significant and much needed investment in America’s roads, bridges and transit systems is a focus of the Obama Administration and Congressional efforts to stimulate the economy and move America forward.

In the short term, transportation expenditures can help deliver an economic boost that will start the nation on the path of financial recovery through job creation, business and personal productivity, and reducing the human and economic cost of highway crashes.

Transportation funds provided in the short-term economic recovery legislation should be allocated to the most effective projects and services. These projects will likely include routine repair and maintenance of existing infrastructure that has been neglected due to budget cuts and other considerations.

Key points to help ensure this substantial investment will meet Americans’ expectations for mobility, safety, efficiency, environmental sustainability and economic growth include:

  • Transportation can help revive the economy: Investing in the nation’s transportation system, which has been neglected far too long, will create jobs in the short term and provide the foundation for economic growth and a better quality of life in the longer term. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that nearly 30,000 jobs are supported by every $1 billion invested in transportation projects. A sizable share of the overall stimulus package should be dedicated to transportation improvements, particularly those that will contribute a lasting return on investment long after the last shovel of dirt is turned.
  • Transparency and oversight are key: Oversight and accountability should be paramount in the final recovery package to ensure these resources are spent appropriately on projects that will make a difference in terms of safety, congestion relief and system efficiency. Congress and the Obama Administration should work together to assure the public about how, when and where these funds will be spent. Funding decisions, project selection and implementation must be transparent and open to renew trust with the public.
  • Projects need to be started soon: Transportation funds to states and localities should be distributed in a balanced manner using existing formulas and criteria that will ensure quick allocation of funds for high-quality projects and keep the final bill “earmark-free.” Clear direction should be provided by the President and Congress to federal, state and local agencies to “cut through the red tape,” initiate projects and provide job growth as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  • Maintain and protect existing transportation funds: To create jobs and realize transportation improvements, stimulus funds should add to, and not replace, existing state and local transportation investments. A final plan should ensure that states and localities do not divert existing transportation resources to other purposes.
  • Future vision and plan still needed soon: Transportation funding included as part of the short-term stimulus plan will provide a needed “shot in the arm” to address a growing backlog of transportation needs. However, it does not resolve the nation’s long-term transportation funding needs. Congress must quickly begin the effort of crafting a multi-year authorization bill that can make America stronger by enhancing our global competitiveness and ensuring safe, reliable mobility for all citizens. That longer-term investment will require commitment to a new transportation vision that abandons the status quo and re-evaluates existing programs and approaches.



AAA’s Letter to President Obama’s Transportation Transition Team

AAA sent a statement to President Obama’s Transportation Transition Team shortly after the election. The statement outlined AAA’s support of the incoming administration’s plans to include funding for transportation in the economic stimulus package.

Click here to read the entire statement from Robert Darbelnet, AAA President & CEO.