House Republicans are preparing to begin moving a two-month extension of federal transportation funding.
The measure, which is scheduled to come up in a House Rules Committee hearing on Monday, is intended to prevent an interruption in the nation’s infrastructure funding that is currently scheduled to begin on May 31.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is also moving forward with a two-month extension, and is fast-tracking the bill to the Senate floor.
Republican leaders in the House had previously sought to pass an extension of the funding that would last until the end of the year, but they struggled to come up with the approximately $10 billion it would take to pay for a measure that lasts that long.
Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said Friday that a two-month extension would allow lawmakers to keep working on a broader infrastructure funding agreement without interfering with the federal government's ability to reimburse states for construction projects that are already underway.
“It was our preference to move an extension through the end of the year, but we will need more time to reach a bipartisan agreement on offsets," said the GOP lawmakers, who are chairman of the House Ways and Means and Transportation committees respectively.
"This legislation will allow transportation spending to continue through July, while we work toward a next step to close the [Highway] Trust Fund’s shortfall," Ryan and Shuster continued. "Doing so will require our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to be constructive in working toward a solution. Only then will we be able to produce a plan that gives states the certainty they need to build the roads, bridges and other infrastructure our communities and economy need to thrive.”
Transportation supporters have pushed for an increase in the gas tax, which has not been raised since 1993. Lawmakers have been reluctant to ask drivers to pay more at the pump, however, and Republicans in particular have ruled a hike a non-starter.
They applauded lawmakers for moving to prevent an interruption in the nation's transportation spending next week on Friday, however.
"We welcome the extension to the Highway Trust Fund introduced today by Chairmen Ryan and Shuster because, as we've urged all along, it is limited in duration," Association of Equipment Manufacturers Vice President Nick Yaksich said in a statement.
Yaksich said lawmakers should use the extra time that will be granted by the temporary highway funding patch to craft a longer bill that would remove the need for future quick fixes.
"Congress must use the next two months to develop a viable way to fund a multi-year extension of the HTF," Yaksich said. "It would be a squandered opportunity if this patch only yielded another short-term extension at the end of July."
Ryan, the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, said earlier this month that he was looking for about $10 billion to cover a patch that would last until the end of year.
The measure, H.R. 2353, that is being introduced in the House Rules Committee extends the funding only until July 31, however.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that it will take about $100 billion to pay for a six-year transportation bill that is being sought by infrastructure advocates.
