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Norton Says Patch for Funding of the Highway Trust Fund Leaves the Heavy Lifting for Later

July 11, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, said today that the District of Columbia and the states will be relieved that a new House Ways and Means Committee bill funds the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) through May 2015, avoiding rationing of transportation and infrastructure funds, but disappointed that the short-term reauthorization leaves them unable to dig into the backlog of significant projects that require the standard six-year reauthorization. Norton does not support extending the surface transportation programs for any longer than necessary to allow Congress to enact a long-term reauthorization, which must continue to be a priority.

"We cannot rebuild our roads, bridges, and transit systems on short-term funding and reauthorizations," Norton said. "The $10.8 billion patch is like buying a dollar's worth of gas when it takes five dollars in gas to get home. This bill is better than the insolvent Highway Trust Fund that was staring us in the face, but that shouldn't be the new standard. The way to get a longer reauthorization is to start pushing for it now."