Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx hinted that President Obama might veto a temporary highway funding extension if Congress passes one this month.
Lawmakers are scrambling to beat a July 31 deadline for the expiration of federal transportation funding, and they have been unable to come up with a way to pay for a long-term extension of the infrastructure spending.
Foxx said Wednesday that Obama is going to wait to see what Congress produces, but he said the president is running out of patience with temporary transportation funding extensions that have been the norm for the last decade.
"I think we're quickly getting to the point where the value of another extension may be less than the value of breaking the cycle," he told reporters.
"The president speaks for the president," he continued. "I think if you look at the Statement of Administration Principles that was put out around the last extension, you can see that I think the patience level is running low."
Foxx said he is going to "withhold a final judgment" until he sees what Congress produces later this month, but he said the temporary road funding patches that have been passed by lawmakers in recent years are preventing states from completing badly-need construction projects.
"The system is falling apart," he said. "I will tell you that at current funding levels and with the spate of short-term extensions we've had, we're damaging the system."
Obama has complained about previous temporary highway extensions, but he has ultimately signed them to prevent an interruption in the nation's spending on road and transit projects.
Foxx said Wednesday that Obama might take a different tack later this month if Congress presents him with another patch.
"I'm telling you that we've got to break to cycle," he reiterated when he was asked if he would recommend that President Obama veto a short-term highway funding extension this month.
"What we're doing right now is not fair to future generations and frankly, it's not fair to people who are on the roads now," Foxx continued.
