President's Message Tony DeNovellis President and CEO Transportation Investment Will Make for a Better Future Over the years, America's ongoing investment in transportation has helped define our prosperity and lifestyle. Mobility of people and goods is central to meeting our country's social and economic goals. Commerce, personal travel, tourism and emergency services depend on a safe and efficient transportation system. Today, that system is under duress. Long-term investment in our transportation system cannot be ignored. We have all seen an increase in road construction activity in the past few years. That's due to federal programs that were approved six years ago under a law known as the Transpor-tation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Congress spent the better part of last year trying to reauthorize that law and fell short. What some see as a routine transportation reauthorization is, in reality, an investment in the future. In 2004 Congress will try again to pass a long-term bill that ensures adequate funding for transportation, and AAA will be doing its part to make that happen. AAA's "Get There America" campaign highlights what Americans want from their transportation system: safety, mobility and efficiency. A recent report from the Texas Transportation Institute confirms that congestion is more severe, lasts longer, and is affecting more of our transportation network. Its report estimates that the cost of congestion in 2001 was $69.5 billion, which represents 3.5 billion hours of delay and 5.7 billion gallons of excess fuel consumed. That's $4.5 billion more in congestion costs than the previous year. Regrettably, fatalities on our roadways remain tragically high. More than 42,000 people lose their lives on our nation's roads each year; another 5 million people suffer injuries. Many of these deaths and injuries can be prevented, provided Congress adequately funds critical transportation programs. That is what's at stake in 2004. Motorists pay for these programs through the taxes paid at the gasoline pump. But, after years of short-changing and neglecting transportation, the existing revenues will barely support the basic maintenance needed on our transportation network, much less keep pace with the growing demands on our system. That's why Congress is struggling to identify sources of revenue for transportation. Options under consideration are: increasing the gasoline tax; imposing a fee for road use at certain times of the day in heavily congested areas; increased use of bonds at the federal level, and other innovative financing methods. AAA is looking at each of these proposals carefully. We cannot underestimate the importance of transportation investment to our nation's economic well being, security and quality of life. Motorists already pay 18.4 cents per gallon in federal gasoline taxes, with additional pen-nies added by the state. Whatever Congress decides, there must be assurances that every penny collected for transportation is dedicated to transportation and that these funds are invested wisely and efficiently. A world-class transportation network shaped this nation in the last century, and will define it in the future. Tony DeNovellis  President and CEO Return to Table of Contents

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