Illinois' Rep. Robert Dold calls for long-term transportation bill

U.S. Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL) issued a statement Wednesday after the House of Representatives passed a short-term extension to the Highway Trust Fund’s expenditure authority.

Dold said the short-term extension is necessary to prevent a transportation shutdown, but that the extension must be used to develop a bipartisan, long-term funding bill that provides much-needed certainty to local governments, contractors and everyone else who relies on the nation's transportation system.

“Growing our economy will require a robust transportation infrastructure system, of which I have always been a strong proponent," Dold said. “Working in bipartisan fashion to ensure a long-term surface transportation bill, which includes mass transit, must be our goal.”