Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said he can accept a temporary infrastructure funding extension, but only if lawmakers use the extra time to come up with a long-term solution later this summer.
Foxx told reporters during a briefing at the Transportation Department's headquarters in Washington that he could deal with "a purposeful extension...in which they are seriously trying to come up with a long-term solution to get us a longer-term bill to grow the investment and create sensible policy for the 21st century."
But Foxx emphasized that a possible extension should be used wisely by lawmakers.
"If it's an extension for extension's sake, that's not a good idea because it's going to continue to freeze and immobilize state departments of transportation that are trying to find resources to get projects done," he said.
Foxx’s comments come at time when Washington is scrambling to prevent an interruption of federal transportation funding before the May 31 deadline.
GOP leaders in the House said that passing a short-term extension is likely the only way they will be able to craft a longer version of the federal funding package and eliminate the need for future funding patches.
