Two House leaders tout plan for short Highway Trust Fund extension

U.S. Reps. Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Paul Ryan (R-WI) released a statement on Friday concerning legislation that was recently introduced to extend federal surface-transportation funding for two months.

Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Ryan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, are concerned about the impending expiration of Highway Trust Fund authorization. The new legislation concerns funding for new highway and transit programs that must be authorized before the current authorization expires.

"While highway and transit-program spending authority expires at the end of the month, the Highway Trust Fund has sufficient resources to fund its obligations through the end of July,” the statement said. “It was our preference to move an extension through the end of the year, but we will need more time to reach a bipartisan agreement on offsets. This legislation will allow transportation spending to continue through July, while we work toward a next step to close the trust fund’s shortfall. Doing so will require our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to be constructive in working toward a solution. Only then will we be able to produce a plan that gives states the certainty they need to build the roads, bridges  and other infrastructure our communities and economy need to thrive."