President Signs Highway Trust Fund Patch
President Obama signed a bill funding the federal Highway Trust Fund until July 31. The bill, HR2353, covers highway funding and policy for programs under the federal Highway Trust Fund. Funds were scheduled to run out on May 31 if a patch or long-term funding wasn’t passed. The House of Representatives passed the bill on May 19 and the Senate passed it on May 23.
Congress still needs to pass a long-term highway bill that would last five or six years and fill the $15 billion needed to fund a multi-year highway bill.
Several options for a long-term highway funding bill have been discussed, including the White Houses’ GROW AMERICA Act and a six-year transportation bill from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The GROW AMERICA Act was introduced to Congress on May 20 and is a six-year, $478 billion transportation re-authorization package. If you want to know more, we wrote about it when the White House submitted the plan to Congress.
Funding for the transportation bill from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hasn’t been worked out yet, but the panel will act on legislation now that the May 31 deadline has passed.
For more information on the patch, you can read articles from Heavy Duty Trucking, Overdrive Magazine, Transport Topics, and CCJ.