The American Highway Users Alliance (informally Highway Users, previously Highway Users Federation, National Highway Users Conference), is a non-profit

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

representing many businesses in the automotive and road construction sector. The organization, which was founded by

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

and others in 1932, merged with the Automotive Safety Foundation and Auto Industries Highway Safety Committee in 1970. It lobbies for sustained investment in the highway system and claims to have been "instrumental in the passage of virtually all major highway and traffic safety legislation over the past 75 years". It argues that revenue from federal US fuel taxes should be used to fund major highway projects and programs. It publishes research proposals relating to specific highway improvement proposals and regular reports that highlight the most congested roadway bottlenecks in the country. The organization

advocates An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

that strategic development of the highway system would reduce congestion, reduce

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

and improve

Road Traffic Safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-road ...

Officers and directors

The following officials and roles were listed on organisation's

IRS Form 990 Form 990 (officially, the "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax") is a United States Internal Revenue Service form that provides the public with financial information about a nonprofit organization. It is often the only source of such i ...

in 2010. Other interests have been added referenced: * Norman Y. Mineta, Honorary chairman (

United States Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

2001-2006,

Hill & Knowlton Hill+Knowlton Strategies is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City, United States, with over 80 offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1927 by John W. Hill ...

2006) *

Bill Graves William Preston Graves (born January 9, 1953) is an American former politician who was the 43rd governor of Kansas from 1995 until 2003. Career Graves was born in Salina, Kansas to parents who owned a trucking firm. After graduating from Kan ...

, Chairman (Governor of Kansas and president of

American Trucking Associations The American Trucking Associations (ATA), founded in 1933, is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States through a federation ...

) *Richard A. Coon, Vice Chairman (President and CEO of Recreation Vehicle Industry Association) *Thomas F. Jensen, Secretary (Vice President of UPS) *Roy E. Littlefield, Treasurer (Executive Vice President, Tire Industry Association, Vice President, National Capital Area Transportation Federation) *Gregory M. Cohen, President and CEO A further 18 directors are listed, including senior executives from:

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Toyota Motor North America Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) is the operating subsidiary that oversees all operations of the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Its operations include research and development, manufacturing, sales, market ...

Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers The Auto Alliance (AAM) is a defunct trade group of automobile manufacturers that operated in the United States. It was the leading advocacy group for the auto industry, representing 77% of all car and light truck sales in the United States. The ...

, Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, Recreational Vehicle Industry Association,

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

, Lafarge North America Cement Division, CITGO Asphalt Refining Company and others.

History

The organization was founded as the 'National Highway Users Conference' in 1932 by

Alfred P. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and l ...

Jr., then president of

, and other industry leaders. Its aim was to advocate for funding of highways to be maintained during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Historical Milestones, 1932 Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., then president of General Motors, and other industry leaders founded the National Highway Users Conference (NHUC) to work for good, all-weather roads in every state to “get the farmers out of the mud” and to protect highway funding sources from depression-born demands for new tax revenues. The 'Automotive Safety Foundation' was founded in 1937. Historical Milestones page 1 The organization financed the 'Auto Industries Highway Safety Committee' in 1947, subsequently renamed the 'Dealers Safety and Mobility Council' In 1970 the 'National Highway Users Conference', 'Automotive Safety Foundation' and the 'Auto Industries Highway Safety Committee' were merged to create the 'Highway Users Federation'. In 1995 the organization was renamed the 'American Highway Users Association'. In the same year the 'Automotive Safety Foundation' was renamed the 'Roadway Safety Foundation'. The new President and CEO, William D. Fay, said that the organization would be "dedicated to more successful and aggressive issue advocacy" on behalf of the highway community. In 2004, Greg Cohen, formerly staff to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee became the new President and CEO. The AHUA lobbied for the

TEA-21 The United States federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) is a federal transportation bill enacted June 9, 1998, as and . TEA-21 authorized federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transi ...

highway and transportation bill in 1998, the SAFETEA-LU highway and transportation bill in 2005, the

MAP-21 The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) is a funding and authorization bill to govern United States federal surface transportation spending. It was passed by Congress on June 29, 2012, and President Barack Obama signed it o ...

highway and transportation bill in 2012 and the

FAST Act The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act or the FAST Act is a funding and authorization bill to govern United States federal surface transportation spending. It was passed by Congress on December 3, 2015, and President Barack Obama signed ...

highway and transportation bill in 2015. It was member of the

Global Climate Coalition The Global Climate Coalition (GCC) (1989–2001) was an international lobbyist group of businesses that opposed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and publicly challenged the science behind global warming. The GCC was the largest industry ...

which operated between 1989 and 2002 and which 'vigorously opposed' the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

. It was opposed to the

American Clean Energy and Security Act The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress () that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. The bill ...

in 2009 'dramatically raise the price of highway fuel through a hidden tax on the carbon present in the fuel'.

References

;Sources *

External links

Official Website

Emergency Evacuation Report Card 2006
{{Authority control Lobbying organizations in the United States Automobile associations in the United States

Officers and directors

History

See also

References

External links