BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, RODNEY E. SLATER:

We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

WHEREAS, Almost 11,000 miles of Washington State's urban highways and arterials were rated as seriously congested by the Federal Highway Administration; and

WHEREAS, Washington State was ranked by the Federal Highway Administration as having the second-worst urban congestion level in the nation in terms of average daily traffic per urban lane; and

WHEREAS, Washington State was ranked by the Federal Highway Administration as having the third-worst level of urban interstate congestion in terms of the percentage of urban lanes congested; and

WHEREAS, Almost two-thirds of Washington's interstate highway system was rated as seriously congested; and

WHEREAS, A federally funded, national study by the Texas Transportation Institute ranks the Central Puget Sound metropolitan area in a three-way tie for worst rush hour traffic among 70 regions in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Washington State's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation has recognized that traffic congestion in Washington State wastes time and resources worth over two billion dollars each year; and

WHEREAS, The annual cost of congestion, in terms of dollars per driver, in Washington State's four largest metropolitan areas has grown at average annual rates of over ten percent per year; and

WHEREAS, Washington State's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation has recognized that Washington residents waste 130 million hours each year in congestion-related delays; and

WHEREAS, President Clinton, in his recent budget proposal, has redirected 1.3 billion dollars in highway funds from the several states to federal programs; and

WHEREAS, This will result in a loss of 23 million dollars of federal transportation money to Washington State; and

WHEREAS, This redirected money comes from a surplus of over estimated federal gas tax revenues, a surplus proportionally created by the taxes paid by the citizens of Washington State; and

WHEREAS, The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century clearly states that all gas tax revenues will be preserved for transportation improvements, and that should tax revenues be higher than anticipated, each state would receive a proportional share of the surplus;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that President William J. Clinton restore the 1.3 billion dollars in highway funds to the states in his proposed budget, and that the Congress of the United States of America restore said funds, and return to the people of Washington those federal taxes they have paid to support transportation, in order that those funds directly support transportation improvements in Washington State.

BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States, Rodney E. Slater, the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.