In the wake of the passage of another two-month extension of authorizations for federal highway and transit programs, viewed by many legislators as a short-term stop gap solution, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) released a statement last week.
“West Virginians rely heavily on roads, bridges and highways to fuel our economy, to access hard to reach areas in our state and to transport necessary goods and services,” Capito said. “While I supported a short-term bill to avoid a gap in highway funding, states cannot plan for lasting investments with piecemeal fixes.”
The extensions approved by Congress last through July 31, falling well short of producing a new long-term bill with significant funding for transportation improvement projects, for which state transportation departments and members of the construction industry have been heavily lobbying.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently informed federal, state and local transportation departments that if a new bill, or extension of the current bill was not approved by Sunday, current authorizations would lapse and all federal aid would be cut off, creating a funding gap which would continue to grow exponentially until legislation was passed. Congress avoided that issue, passing the extension Saturday. However, the solution is seen by many to be short-sighted and fails to address the concerns surrounding the diminishing Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to run dry by early August.
“We are disappointed and frustrated,” Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said. “State DOTs are already postponing construction projects this year because they can’t count on federal funds to be there.”
Once the Highway Trust Fund is depleted, any measure that extends authorization beyond July 31 must include a provision to replenish the fund. Experts have estimated that just an extension to the end of December would cost nearly $10 billion.
“We need to create certainty within our transportation system, and that certainty comes from a long-term highway reauthorization bill,” Capito said. “Next month, I will work with other members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to move and pass a full six-year bill.”