October 22, 2014

Contact: Brendan Thomas
Phone: (202) 225-0664
E-mail: brendan.thomas@mail.house.gov

REP. ROKITA ADVANCES HIGHWAY I-69 DEVELOPMENT AT INDIANA SUMMIT

Washington, D.C. – At yesterday’s I-69 Summit at Indiana University in Bloomington, Congressman Todd Rokita joined fellow Indiana Congressmen Todd Young and Larry Buschon for a panel discussion of their state’s major north-south highway. Transportation leaders from as far as Texas and Canada attended the discussion, which the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce organized to highlight I-69’s importance to Indiana and North America.

"I’ve been committed to this important infrastructure project since my very first days as Indiana’s Secretary of State, visiting all of our 92 counties,” said Rep. Rokita, a member of the House I-69 Caucus. "My support is stronger than ever for this project, because Indiana is the Crossroads of America and our infrastructure needs to continue to reflect that."

As a member of the House Budget Committee, Rokita said he’s working to ensure the long-term stability of federal highway funding.

Congress designated the I-69 route, running through Indiana from Canada to Mexico, as a national priority in the 1990s. Five of its six sections are fully paid for or financed. Three are complete, but Section 6 to Indianapolis is incomplete and lacks funding.

“A bigger issue than shrinking fuel taxes is our federal government’s unsustainable spending. Mandatory entitlements on auto-pilot consume two-thirds of our federal budget and will consume it entirely,” Rokita said. “So that they and our infrastructure remain for our next generation, I’m working to reform those programs.”

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