5-Year Highway Bill Passes Senate

The Senate passed the measure by a vote of 83-16.

“The FAST Act provides states with the certainty and flexibility needed to deliver highway and public transportation projects that enhance the quality, safety and strength of the nation’s infrastructure systems”, the National Governors Association said in a December 3 statement. According to Bloomberg, the plan also calls for the Fed to reduce the six-percent dividend paid to national banks to a figure tied to the yields on 10-year US Treasuries.

On November 18, Mayors from 73 USA cities urged Congress to increase funding for the country’s failing infrastructure, including for its deficient bridges. Over the duration of the bill, $4.5 billion is designated for a new competitive grant program for nationally significant freight and highway projects and $6.3 billion for a national highway freight program that uses a formula to apportion money to states.

“Traffic delays are strangling our economy, taking time away from our families and are a daily reminder that taxpayers aren’t getting a return on investment”. The bill that was passed on Thursday now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature.

The FAST Act phases out older, DOT-111 oil tanker railroad cars, and requires new thermal safety jackets and other safety components for all rail cars transporting crude oil and flammable materials.

“PeopleForBikes and the bicycle industry applaud Congress for their hard work and dedication to passing a long-term reauthorization of the surface transportation program”, said PeopleForBikes President Tim Blumenthal.

But with five years of guaranteed federal funding, state and local governments can now tackle long-term highway, bridge and tunnel repairs that have been hard to plan with short-term federal funding patches.

Democratic Sens. Tom Carper (Del.) and Elizabeth Warren (MA) and 14 Republicans, including GOP presidential candidates Sens.

The Wall Street Journal noted that even those glad about the passage of a bill will likely won’t be pleased with the idea of paying for it with funds from outside the transportation sector.

“PeopleForBikes has worked diligently with Congress to highlight the importance of the transportation program to the bicycle industry”, Blumenthal said.

“Many said a multi-year highway bill would never pass the Senate, but we proved them wrong – and we proved it could actually pass by a wide, bipartisan margin”, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, reported USA Today.

The transportation bill also included a critical provision to reauthorize the charter of the Export-Import Bank, which expired in June after conservatives in Congress blocked its reauthorization. In addition, the nation’s infrastructure needs a reliable flow of funds.