On July 15, the House of Representatives approved a short-term fix to the federal highway trust fund.
The New York Times reported that the 367-to-55 vote to approve the $11 billion House bill was more grudging than it appeared.
Without federal funding, the Transportation Department was prepared to cut construction spending by 28% on Aug. 1, 2014. As a result, states planned to halt and delay thousands of projects, putting as many as 700,000 people out of work, The New York Times reported.
The New York Times said that in April, President Obama sent Congress a proposed transportation program that would spend $302 billion over four years, financed both by traditional gasoline taxes and the elimination of some corporate tax breaks. Senator Bob Corker and Senator Christopher S. Murphy also proposed an increase in the gas tax to make up for more efficient cars and trucks that have sapped tax revenues as infrastructure needs have soared.
However, Republican leaders have opposed tax increases while Democrats are hesitant to embrace the President’s plan in an election year.
The New York Times reports that with legislative days running short, Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, is likely to ignore the bipartisan highway funding bill that emerged last week from the Senate Finance Committee and put the House’s version to a vote, likely just before the long August recess. That would obviate the need for House-Senate negotiations to iron out the differences between the bills.