Senators aim for five-year highway bill before August recess

From Transport Topics.

The first version of what could become the country’s next major highway policy bill will be unveiled in the Senate prior to Congress’ recess in August, surface transportation policymakers announced July 10.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee intends to consider a five-year highway bill, kicking off reauthorization of the FAST Act, a five-year highway law that expires in October of next year.

Details regarding the upcoming legislation’s proposals have not been announced. The committee’s leadership also left funding questions about the legislation to the congressional tax-writing panels.

The funding authority for a highway account that is backed by dwindling revenue from the federal fuel tax is rolled into the massive highway bill.

“It is our shared goal to advance a bill out of committee this summer,” committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told senior transportation officials from around the country at a hearing about the upcoming legislation. “Our roads and bridges are in need of a serious investment. … If we do not pass a long-term surface transportation bill, and instead pass a series of short-term extensions, we will undermine our states’ abilities to plan for these challenges.”

See the complete article from Transport Topics online.