mr. keating and thank you each of you for your testimony and also for your patience this morning. it just have a couple of questions -- mr. brown, do you think that's you said in your testimony that mississippi had allocated the funds for highways and bridges and plans on monday 165 contracts is a recovery act funds. how soon after funds are obligated to expect that contracts will be left and how soon after they left and we expect or to get under way -- that is people get on a job? >> madam chairman, maybe i didn't make myself clear and i apologize if i didn't -- those percentages i gave to you are going to contract. those are actual contract jobs. all of our contracts will be finished and on the street and ready for going to work so literally shot already and now show activity beginning within 30 days of the day we let the contract, that would be the time we would give notice to proceed so certainly by the end of august of this year we will be fully conscious and to the employee had worked on all of our stimulus funds. >> and is part of the reason for that like in my state of mar

mr. keating, there must be a mr. oldcastle somewhere. give us your thoughts about the short-term proposition advanced by the administration and the effect that short-term financing will have upon the industry as you and your colleagues -- not just sand and gravel but asphalt, cement and the cement part of ready mix. >> yeah, one key area is just capital investment. i mean, we are always looking ahead to -- for technological improvements, plant and equipment replacements. if there is no forecast out five, six years, there's no way to really way to justify an investment. you're not going to get the pay-back. if we're dealing with it on such a short period of time, we won't be investing in equipment with companies like john deere and caterpillar or aztec industries on new plants for asphalt plants or ready-mix plants. process machinery industry -- it all kind of goes to a screeching halt. it just gets stagnated. in addition to that as the work is kind of paring down, we all know the economy and the state of the economy today and we don't se

mr. keating when you say the l.a. is a lagging indicator so the pilot program is a reimbursable basis and does not give the funds until it is performed it then it receives reimbursement afterwards i am interested in the leading indicators your association tracks such as the value of new contracts awarded with stone minings and the cory you spoke to some of that in your testimony you said that was stronger than normal in april can we expect a highway project will see significant growth since it is a lagging indicator? >> i think we have already seen that we have people to work now it is a reimbursement program. we will go to a working for different phases of the state the eight -- dot they will pay as after the work is complete and then they will get reimbursed from the federal government and what you see from the fed down to this day as far as the outlay of funds lag significantly to were the work is being done. we are bringing -- bring people on board now as i have said in testimony and bringing back existing work fo

mr. keating? >> representitive edwards my name is john keating and i am president and chief operating officer of oldcastle materials east program testifying on behalf of them and the american road and transportation builders association of like to express a breezy asian and the american recovery and reinvestment act included a major transportation infrastructure component. my chief executive officer and vice president of economics told the committee last october that increased transportation never structure investment from the economic stimulus package would be put to work quickly and produce meaningful benefits. today is my pleasure to report how these are being felt. states and obligated 14.7 billion zero highway funds as of june 16 this has been five 1/2 billion more than required to me obligated by the june 30 deadline. the expected outlay is expected to increase as a move into the summer and fall construction season. furthermore the value of new contract awards for highway and bridge projects

mr. keating, president and chief operating officer of oldcastle material group east representing the american road and transportation builders association and will begin with mr. brown and. >> thank you madam chairman. as a special low before i began we have included a few figures which are incorrectly added it in now have been fixed and will ask that we be permitted to cemented that revised testimony for the record, a couple technical changes. >> without objection can i thank you. madam chairman and members, my name is larry butch brown, the executive director of the mississippi department of transportation currently serving as vice president of american association of state highway transportation officials and will be the incoming president of that association this fall. on behalf of the state department of transportation i want to thank you for your efforts in securing transportation funding as a part of the economic recovery legislation. today a want of a size three major points. all of the states have on a 50% or more of the non sum allocated funds well before the june 30 deadline. proje