Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie voted today to restore $8.017 billion in highway-user taxes to the Federal Highway Trust Fund to prevent a possible 34 percent cut in federal highway funding in 2009. 

"Failure to take this action would have cost Hawaii nearly $53 million in funding for highway and bridge projects already underway or waiting to be started," said Abercrombie. "And along with a loss of highway funding would have been the loss of more than 1,800 Hawaii jobs. We learned from the demise of Aloha Airline how devastating that kind of job loss is to our entire community."

Hawaii received $161.4 million in federal highways funds for this year. $8 billion was transferred from the Trust Fund to the U.S. Government’s General Fund 10 years ago, when the Trust Fund was deemed to have too high a balance. Now, with Americans driving less and purchasing less gasoline, the Trust Fund has shrunk. 

The Bush Administration originally threatened to veto the restoration of funds, but last week, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation acknowledged that the Highway Trust Fund would run out of money in the next few weeks without congressional action.

-30-