In Nebraska, Foxx Hopeful Long-Term Funding Effort Has Momentum

Great to have @SecretaryFoxx here in Nebraska at @UNLincoln pic.twitter.com/ozPWsaF6LG — Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) August 12, 2015

 

The way Anthony Foxx sees it, there's nowhere to go but up.

“The good news, I think, is we are close to rock bottom,” the transportation secretary said Aug. 12 about the struggle to get a commitment from Congress to a long-term highway funding bill. “I think we’ve got a moment here where something bigger can happen.”

Foxx was touring Nebraska with Sen. Deb Fischer (R), lobbying again for a permanent fix to a problem that has seen Congress pass 34 consecutive short-term patches since 2009. One of their stops was in the state capital of Lincoln for a round-table discussion of infrastructure.

Great round table with @SecretaryFoxx talking about #transportation pic.twitter.com/lai2YEWVMy — Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) August 12, 2015

The Senate has approved a six-year bill that provides three years of funding, but because the House did not take action before recessing, a three-month extension of current authorization was pushed through and signed by President Obama.

Fischer and Foxx co-authored an opinion piece that appeared in the Journal-Star. In it, they wrote: "America’s transportation network is the framework upon which our nation’s economic system rests. With a long-term infrastructure strategy, proper coordination at all levels of government and a robust freight policy, we can address our nation’s transportation challenges head on, while strengthening safety on our roads and boosting productivity."

At his appearance at the site of Nebraska's first diverging diamond interchange, Foxx said it was time to "vanquish the specter of uncertainty" that is handcuffing states.

"Frankly, how many projects can you get done in three months, from start to finish?" Foxx asked rhetorically. "Or two months, or one year? It takes planning, it takes work, it takes design, it takes engineering, and it takes construction, and that process takes multiple years."