Congress approves bill to boost nation’s infrastructure

The agreement still does not solve how Congress will pay for the bill long-term, as legislators acknowledge gas tax revenue, which supports the Highway Trust Fund, will not be enough.

Both of Nevada’s senators said they were happy to have a long-term bill head to the president’s desk. It now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) headed up the conference committee to finalize the bill and praised the bill’s passage Thursday. While this bill includes some good transportation policies, the way we pay for these policies is unsustainable and irresponsible, offering little more than a grab bag of budget gimmicks that will actually increase our deficit in the long run.

The long-term bill will allow the DOT to move forward with most of the 100-plus projects in its Statewide Transportation Improvement Program for 2016, including highway reconstruction, bridge replacements and preventative maintenance, Salwei said.

In addition to highways, the measure funds city streets, county roadways and transit projects.

FAST Act provides stable funding with modest increases to states over the five year life of the bill.

Those negotiators included three NY lawmakers – Democratic Sen.

Sen. Michael Bennet, a Denver Democrat, said he was glad to see the end of stop-gap funding that has been the norm for the past 10 years.

The airline and cruise ship industries complained that their passengers are also being asked to pay for improvements unrelated to their travel. It will get $6.9 billion from reducing a Federal Reserve dividend to banks, $6.2 billion from selling a portion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, $5.2 billion from indexing for inflation the fees paid to Customs and Border Protection, and $2.4 billion by allowing the Internal Revenue Service to hire private tax collectors.

The Associated General Contractors of New York State said the legislation is “welcomed news for the construction industry”.

In addition, the bill increases fines for auto makers who don’t report defects in their cars, and makes it illegal for rental vehicle companies to rent you a vehicle that’s been recalled for safety issues.

“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.

No funding is set aside for I-11, but supporters say the expanded designation of the route helps the planning process and makes it more likely to get funding.

The bill also addresses several concerns raised by a deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia in May. Damage awards from that accident, which killed eight people and injured about 200, are expected to exceed the current cap.