The U.S. economy is too weak to withstand a prolonged delay in TEA-21 reauthorization without a significant impact on jobs for workers and profits for A/E firms. Thomas O'Neill Parsons Brinckerhoff recent briefing. Possible war p o l i c i e s advocated by govern- Fo r proof that outsourcing with North Korea or Iraq could ment-employee unions and set w o r k s , just look at last year's mean a huge military drain on by state legislatures or governors. emergency redesign and rebuild- the budget. Plus, all the various Some other state DOTs have ing of the Interstate 40 bridge t r a n s p o r t a t i o n modes will be a g g r e s s i v e outsourcing poli- over the Arkansas River in Okla- vying with each other for a piece c i e s i n many cases, because h o m a . The bridge collapsed of the pie. t r a n s p o r t a t i o n budgets have when a 200-ton barge struck it unions' attempts to further limit Despite these challenges, been cut so significantly that the over the Memorial Day week- private contracts by the Califor- O'Neill says, timely passage of s t a t e s simply don't have the end. But ACEC members Cobb nia Department of Transporta- the reauthorization bill is cru- e n g i n e e r s to design roads, Engineering, Poe and Associates, tion Caltrans . cial: TEA-21 was delayed by bridges or transit systems. In the and White Engineering Associ- In 2000, California voters nine months in 1997