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WASHINGTON – The Senate on Monday voted to begin debate on a major transportation funding bill—the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA). U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee, said that although the funding levels for Texas are an improvement over those of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), Texas remains a donor state under this bill. However, the only way to improve the bill, he said, is to debate the bill. He pledged a determined effort working with his colleague Sen. Hutchison to acquire a more equitable distribution of the funds for Texas as the bill is debated over the next two weeks, and reminded his colleagues that the vote today is not on the final bill. In fact, he said, “this is only the beginning.”"Much remains to be done on this bill before Texas receives its fair share, and while I’m far from satisfied with the current bill, we’ve got a long way to go,” Cornyn said. “Although it represents a significant increase in funds to the state over the next six years—a more than $5 billion increase to Texas transportation projects—the return Texas taxpayers receive on the funds they send to Washington is insufficient.” Currently, Texas receives a 90.5 percent rate of return on gas tax funds sent to Washington. By 2009, that level will reach 95 percent, a minimum target set by Cornyn when he took office in December 2002. Proceeding with debate on the bill will allow amendments to be offered, and changes made to the bill before it is sent to a conference committee. As Cornyn is a member of the transportation subcommittee, it is likely that he will have an opportunity to influence the bill during this critical last step in the process."As a member of the committee, I have been working closely with the chairman and ranking member during the reauthorization process to improve and further address the bill’s proposed funding distribution,” Cornyn said. “The target of a 95 percent return on the dollar that Texans send to Washington is now in sight, and with it, much-needed funds to help expand our state’s infrastructure. But we have a long way to go before Texans get a full return on their dollar, and as a member of the Transportation subcommittee, I’ll have an opportunity to do just that.” Cornyn continued: “The rapidly growing population of Texas is fast outstripping the growth of infrastructure. If we are to remain a leader in trade with other states and other nations, we will need to continue the modernization that this new transportation legislation provides. Cornyn was in Midland on January 19 to receive the first-ever Milemarker Award from MOTRAN (Midland Odessa Transportation) for sponsoring legislation that would designate La Entrada al Pacifico a high priority transportation corridor. He introduced legislation in October to designate the project as a “high priority” corridor on the National Highway System. In August, he hosted a committee field hearing in Brownsville to address critical transportation needs in order to best address those concerns when the transportation bill is brought to the full Senate. He also held roundtable discussions in Lubbock and Wichita Falls to discuss ways of improving transportation. Cornyn is co-chairman of Transportation Excellence for the 21st Century (TEX-21), a non-profit statewide coalition composed of mayors, city council members, county judges and others who focus on transportation issues. TEX-21 addresses key concerns regarding transportation, especially funding, safety, design standards, NAFTA trade corridors, national defense and homeland security. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and various members of the Texas Congressional delegation are also on the panel. TEA-21 was signed into law on June 9, 1998 as Public Law 105-178. The legislation authorizes federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 6-year period 1998-2003.