Rep. Edwards: ‘We Gotta Get Money Attached’ To Highway Bill
Rep. Donna Edwards, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure panel, called on congressional leaders to ensure highway legislation the panel will consider Oct. 22 is funded.
“We gotta get money attached to it,” Edwards (D-Md.) said Oct. 15 on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. “Investments in the infrastructure grow our economy and put us in the 21st century.”
Edwards is among the transportation authorizers calling for a multiyear highway bill that would keep a federal road-building account funded. While acknowledging the Senate’s efforts in advancing a multiyear highway bill in July, Edwards criticized that legislation for its three years of funding authority.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee handles policy provisions for highways and transit programs. The funding for transportation falls on the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Highway Trust Fund.T&I leaders have scheduled a press conference for Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. on Capitol Hill.
In a recent interview with Transport Topics, T&I Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said his Ways and Means colleagues will “continue to consider options for funding the [highway] legislation.”
Edwards has sought support from various stakeholders and constituents as part of her bid to succeed Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.). Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) also is vying for Mikulski’s seat.
