“There is a dark cloud looming that will needlessly delay many important highway and transportation projects around the country and force consumers to pay more at the pump at exactly the worst possible time. This threat is a Senate proposal expected to be debated next week which would bankrupt the Highway Trust Fund by increasing spending based on accounting gimmicks.
“Offering American taxpayers an artificially inflated six-year highway, transit and safety authorization bill means promising to spend money that doesn’t exist. If the Congress chooses to irresponsibly add billions to the cost of the bill, it is setting itself up to raise gas taxes or risk bankrupting the Highway Trust Fund in the very near future. Neither option is acceptable.
“Last week the President made it clear that he would veto any bill that increases the top-line dollar figure beyond the $284 billion, six-year level that has already been overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. I urge the Senate to take the fiscally responsible approach by protecting taxpayers, keeping the American economy moving and passing the highway bill.”
