LaHood Hits Deficit Panel

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday said the nation could face cuts in transportation infrastructure funding after the Congressional supercommittee’s failure to reach an agreement on deficit reduction.

"Because the supercommittee failed to reach an agreement, we now face across-the-board cuts to programs that are critical to rebuilding our crumbling transportation infrastructure and putting Americans back to work,” LaHood said in a statement.

The deficit reduction panel on Monday said it was unable to present a bipartisan agreement on tackling the nation’s debt, which stands at $15 trillion, the Associated Press reported.

LaHood said the American people want “commonsense, bipartisan solutions that take a balanced approach to reducing the deficit while protecting critical transportation investments that create jobs and allow our economy to grow.”

“When Congress comes back next month, I urge them to set aside politics and get to work on a bipartisan plan that will allow us to live within our means, while also meeting our responsibility to rebuild America’s critical transportation infrastructure,” he said.