Senate leadership support for a temporary 18 month extension of the Highway Trust Fund seems destined to insure that no permanent reauthorization bill will come out of Congress for at least that long, and maybe not at all during President Obama's first term in office. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, together with Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer and Ranking Member James Inhofe, have all come out in favor of an 18 month temporary extension bill.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Highways Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio predicts the 18 month extension bill will cost the construction industry a million jobs because states will not begin investing in long term projects until a full six year reauthorization is passed. And House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar predicts the 18 month delay will stretch to four years before a long term reauthorization can be enacted. "An 18 month extension will put us into the next presidential election cycle. It will take four years," Oberstar said. "I know how this body works ... Inertia becomes the enemy of progress."
Meanwhile, House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Latham predicts the Highway Trust Fund will become insolvent in about three weeks from today. The subcommittee Monday unanimously approved its portion of the fiscal 2010 transportation and infrastructure budget, which includes #10.5 billion for public transit construction, $1.5 billion for Amtrak construction, and $4 billion for high speed intercity passenger rail construction.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Highways Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio predicts the 18 month extension bill will cost the construction industry a million jobs because states will not begin investing in long term projects until a full six year reauthorization is passed. And House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar predicts the 18 month delay will stretch to four years before a long term reauthorization can be enacted. "An 18 month extension will put us into the next presidential election cycle. It will take four years," Oberstar said. "I know how this body works ... Inertia becomes the enemy of progress."
Meanwhile, House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Latham predicts the Highway Trust Fund will become insolvent in about three weeks from today. The subcommittee Monday unanimously approved its portion of the fiscal 2010 transportation and infrastructure budget, which includes #10.5 billion for public transit construction, $1.5 billion for Amtrak construction, and $4 billion for high speed intercity passenger rail construction.
