ROADS/BRIDGES: ‘The Senate should move quickly to adopt this extension,’ says Ryan

July 17, 2015

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urges the Senate to pass the House's highway funding patch. 

House Ways and Mean Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urged the Senate to pass the House’s $8 billion highway funding extension without issue or objection.

The House approved a five-month deal, which lasts until December, in an effort to avoid including an extension of the Export-Import Bank’s charter in the new version of the highway bill and buy more time to come up with a long-term highway funding plan.

Ryan said after the temporary patch was approved on a 312-119 vote in the House that the Senate should follow suit and send the lower chamber back a clean highway funding extension. 

"The House has now taken the first step to providing the stability and predictability that our highway program needs," Ryan said in a statement. 

"This plan gives us our best opportunity to produce and pass a long-term bill to rebuild America’s roads, bridges, and other infrastructure this year," Ryan continued.

"This is the right approach, and the Senate should move quickly to adopt this extension — without any unrelated measures — so that we can provide some certainty and get to work on a multi-year plan."

The U.S. DOT admonished that its Highway Trust Fund will fall below a mandatory critical level of $4 billion come July 31. 

Sponsored Recommendations

Our new Bridge Hanger animation demonstrates how fast and easy it is to install light, sturdy fiberglass conduit onto bridges.
Learn how Champion Flame Shield® Provides a Safe Solution in Fire Sensitive Applications
See how fiberglass conduit stacks up to the competition in crucial areas like weight, corrosion resistance and installation cost.
See how Champion Fiberglass compares to PVC, GRC and PVC-coated steel in installation.