Gov. Gregoire�s statement on release of Senate transportation budget

For Immediate Release: March 25, 2009

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today released the following statement on the release of the Senate transportation budget:

�I congratulate Senator Haugen and the Senate transportation committee on the development of what I know was a very difficult budget. The construction projects in this budget continue to make critical investments in our transportation infrastructure and put people to work.

�Earlier this week, I provided an update on Washington state�s federal stimulus recovery efforts. While the federal funding doesn�t solve our state�s financial challenges, this recovery funding does provide a kick start to our lagging economy. Included in the federal stimulus is a significant transportation package, which combined with our state efforts, will create thousands of jobs across Washington state.

�I look forward to working collaboratively with the state Legislature toward a timely enactment of the final transportation budget.�