Astec Industries leads national movement to pass long-term Highway Trust Fund

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Funding for America's highways risks running out if Congress does not take action by May 31, 2015.  To encourage a long-term solution, Astec Industries is today announcing its new national effort to rally Americans and transportation-industry-related groups to encourage Congress to pass a gas-tax-funded highway bill. 

The Astec-led movement, "Don't Let America Dead End," includes a national trade ad campaign, direct outreach to federally elected officials, email marketing, sales-force effort, educational materials, a new website as the campaign's "take action" center (www.DontLetAmericaDeadEnd.com) and much more. 

"We need all the industries that support and use America's highways – construction, road paving, material production and others – to help us reach out to federal-elected representatives via email, phone calls and visits to share why it's necessary to fund highway investment," says Benjamin G. Brock, president and CEO of Astec Industries.  "We, as an industry, mistakenly feel like there's nothing we can do to solve the funding crisis facing our nation's highways.  And that's not true.  It's up to us to show our collective influence and educate our representation on the positive effects of passing a long-term highway bill with increased funding." 

A Rocky Road to Proper Funding
Over the last few years, instead of approving highway funding, Congress has granted a series of extensions.  With no long-term solution, and only short-term "fixes" for years, America's infrastructure continues to slip into a worse state. 

If, in 2015, Congress waits to agree on a long-term solution, the U.S. government will end up once again settling for a short-term "Band-Aid" over a much larger problem.   

The Clear Road Ahead
Two senators have crossed party lines to come up with a long-term solution to fund highway investment:  Senator Corker (R-TN) and Senator Murphy (D-CT). The proposal would raise the current gas tax by $.06 over two years, for a total increase of $.12 per gallon. This represents an increase of about $1.60 per week per car, less than $.23 per day. 

"The current 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax hasn't been increased since 1993, and we're long overdue for an increased fund to support America's growing number of road systems and aged highways that are safety hazards," says Brock.  "Now, with funding once again about to run out, we're encouraging Americans, the industry and Congress to support raising the current gas tax.  It's a small investment in the safety of our families and our long-term economic outlook." 

For more information about how to support the "Don't Let America Dead End" campaign and take action, visit www.DontLetAmericaDeadEnd.com.  

ABOUT ASTEC INDUSTRIES
Astec Industries, Inc., (www.astecindustries.com), is a manufacturer of specialized equipment for asphalt road building; aggregate processing; oil, gas and water well drilling; and wood processing. Astec's manufacturing operations are divided into three primary business segments: road building and related equipment (Infrastructure Group); aggregate processing and mining equipment (Aggregate and Mining Group); and equipment for the extraction and production of fuels, biomass production, and water drilling equipment (Energy Group).

For more information about Astec Industries, visit http://www.astecindustries.com. 

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150106/167365-INFO 

SOURCE Astec Industries, Inc.

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