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April 14-25, 2014 | www.HardhatsforHighways.org Your Senators and Representatives will be back working in your home districts starting next Monday, April 14 through Friday, April 25.  It is the perfect opportunity to set up meetings to discuss the importance federal highway funding has on your company and your job. Make an appointment to visit the District office closest to you. Bring this informational leave-behind and a company hardhat with the “Hardhats for Highways” decal affixed listing the number of jobs in your company that will be affected if funding is cut off. While these are the best times to visit, don’t hesitate to set up appointments at other times and visit with their staff members.

51���� and the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) are seeking input on how the looming Highway Trust Fund shortfall is impacting business decisions and state transportation programs.   This survey, along with the recently launched Highways for Hardhats campaign, is part of 51����’s continued efforts to raise awareness of the impacts of Highway Trust Fund’s revenue crisis.

Today, the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Environmental & Public Works (EPW) Committee announced they reached an “agreement in principle” on a reauthorization of MAP-21.  Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and ranking member David Vitter (R-La.) were joined at the announcement by the Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wy.), where they said they hoped to pass the bill out of committee in May. 

"Work Zone Speeding: A Costly Mistake" is the theme of this year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 7–11), which is intended to highlight the dangers to construction workers and motorists when highway improvement projects are underway. 51���� participated in the national event, held in Seattle, Wash. on Tuesday, April 8, hosted by the Washington State Department of Transportation, with participation from the Federal Highway Administration, AASHTO, and other national construction associations. 

June 10-11, 2014 | The Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC 51���� urges its members to participate in this year’s Transportation Construction Coalition Fly-In and bring the message to Congress that: The Time is Now: Fix the Highway Trust Fund!  With the Highway Trust Fund projected to run short of cash as early as July 2014, slowing Federal reimbursements to state DOTs for ongoing contracts and the very real potential that there will be no federal funds available for new highway construction projects starting on Oct. 1, 2014 – Congress needs to hear from you.

Forty-five percent of highway contractors had motor vehicles crash into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by 51����.

Report Meetings and Share Pictures at www.HardhatsforHighways.org Your Senators and Representatives will be back working in your home districts April 14-25.  It is the perfect opportunity to set up meetings to discuss the importance federal highway funding has on your company and your job. We need to flood Congressional offices with in-person meetings where you present a company hardhat with the Hardhats for Highways decal.

This week, the House Budget Committee approved a budget for fiscal year 2015 on a partisan vote.  The budget is expected to be voted on by the full House next week.  This year’s House budget is somewhat unnecessary considering the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 – which became law in January – established spending totals and funding allocations for fiscal year 2015.  For this reason, the Senate is not planning on taking up a budget resolution this year.

51����, along with a broad-based diesel coalition, sent letters to the HouseHouse and Senate Appropriations Committees encouraging them to include $30 million in their fiscal year 2015 funding bill for grants, loans, and rebates made possible by the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA).  The program has an annual authorization of $100 million.

Report Meetings and Share Pictures at www.HardhatsforHighways.org With your Senators and Representatives working in their home states last week, it was the perfect opportunity to get involved in the Hardhats for Highways campaign and meet with your members of Congress.  Did you met with your local member of Congress in support of Hardhats for Highways? We want to hear about it – report your meetings on the Hardhats for Highways website.