Sen. Claire McCaskill: Lack of Highway Bill ‘Kind of a Joke’
WASHINGTON — Sen. Claire McCaskill on May 5 expressed her disappointment with GOP congressional leaders for not having already unveiled a funding fix for a highway account when transportation funding authority expires at the end of the month.
“This is kind of a joke that there’s not even a bill and we’re 26 days away,” McCaskill (D-Mo.) said during a Commerce subcommittee hearing that looked at ways to fund surface transportation projects. “It’s clear to me that the only thing that they’re going to do is [a short-term] patch.”
McCaskill's concerns were echoed during the hearing. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), the subcommittee's chairwoman, noted the “time for action is now” on a long-term highway bill. The subpanel’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, added that a long-term bill would be “putting America first” in infrastructure.
While many lawmakers continue to press for a long-term plan that would modernize aging infrastructure nationwide, last week Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in the House, said he is crafting a legislative fix that would fund transportation programs through December. His panel has jurisdiction over the federal Highway Trust Fund.
Republican leaders who control the House and Senate are expected to back Ryan's plan.
The U.S. Department of Transportation uses the trust fund to help states finance big-ticket highway projects. The recent funding uncertainty at the federal level has prompted officials in Delaware, Tennessee and Arkansas to delay construction projects.
