Jobs bill would include $27.5B for roads and bridges
“We need this bill to put people to work right now,” said House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar, who worked with House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey to produce the legislation. “The states already know where they will put people to work on transportation projects. They have catalogued the roads and bridges that need to be repaired, and once they receive this funding they can start putting people to work in a matter of weeks.”
The latest SAFETEA-LU funding extension expires on Friday, Dec. 18. However, even though the House is expected to act on the jobs bill quickly, the Senate will not tackle it until the early part of 2010. To keep operations running, the House also will pass a 60-day extension at current funding levels as part of a continuing resolution.
A recent survey of state departments of transportation by the American Society of Civil Engineers found over 9,500 transportation projects that could be started in the next 120 days if funding were available.