House opts for more money to fix trust fund

The House of Representatives passed a $7 billion Highway Trust Fund fix on Wednesday, $2 billion more than what was earlier reported.

The extra money came at the insistence of the Senate, which wanted enough in the trust fund pot to keep programs afloat until October.

House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) is still resisting the Obama administration’s 18-month funding extension, calling the $7 billion fix “an infusion, not an extension.”

The U.S. DOT did issue a warning before the talks of a fix that because of insufficient revenue in the trust fund the FHWA would likely be forced to limit reimbursements to the states as revenue permitted.

“States are in the midst of the peak of their construction seasons,” said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials. “The prospect of a slowdown in receiving their federal funding would be devastating. Not only are jobs at stake, but the economic boost of the recovery program would be jeopardized unless final action is taken.”