T&I Chairman Bill Shuster: Short-Term Extension Likely
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) was quoted in a Washington, D.C., news publication as saying the chamber likely will move ahead with a short-term highway funding extension this fall.
"We are going to have to do a short term extension … on FAA and probably on highway," he told the Washington Examiner in an article published Sept. 9. Current funding authority for highway programs expires Oct. 29.
Shuster’s committee is expected to consider a multiyear highway bill next week. But even if his panel reports such legislation to the floor, Shuster said he thinks it would take several months to negotiate a final bill with his Senate counterparts. That raises the prospects of Congress going ahead with another short-term funding fix for highway programs. The Senate advanced a six-year highway bill in July.
Nearly every transportation group is urging Congress to advance a long-term highway bill this year. Congress has approved 34 short-term funding extensions for highway programs since 2009.
