Congress overwhelmingly backs 5-year transportation bill

“Because Missouri is a hub for our nation’s railways, highways, and waterways, it is imperative that our transportation planners and industry have the long-term certainty they need to promote investment, ensure the safety and reliability of existing infrastructure, and expedite the permitting process for new projects”.

“This transportation bill is not flawless, but it is a good bill that will put Americans back to work and provide much-needed certainty to New Jersey businesses and local transportation agencies”, Sires said. Cory Booker, D-N.J. Efforts to restore Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast, between New Orleans and Orlando, also took a major step forward. After countless short-term funding bills, some of which paid for less than a year of highway construction at a time, it was time to move on, especially for Montana, where federal highway funding is crucial.

“This bipartisan legislation will provide $281 billion in guaranteed funding for highway, transit and transportation safety programs over the next five years, including more than $3.4 billion in direct highway and transit formula funds for Colorado”, he said.

The group added that increased spending in the FAST Act will “only make it more hard for lawmakers to close the HTF shortfall in the future”, noting that its higher spending would increase the 2021-2030 shortfall by $50 billion on top of the already-existing $215 billion shortfall.

After the exemption, banks will contribute almost $7 billion in lost dividends to highway funding.

The tax hasn’t been increased since 1993 and hasn’t kept pace with construction demands because of inflation and more fuel-efficient cars.

Yet Brian McGuire, president and CEO of Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), believes the FAST Act will help boost heavy equipment sales to the tune of $13 billion.

“Five years goes by fast, ” Pete Ruane, the association’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

A five-year, $305 billion bill was passed by Congress Thursday.

A big shortcoming in the bill, though, is how it’s all financed.

Obama said he will keep pushing Congress to come up with more sustainable way to pay for transportation projects than the patchwork of funding mechanisms lawmakers turned to pay for the measure he signed into law on Friday.

The bill, which provides funding to build and upgrade the nation’s road and bridges, also reauthorizes the Export-Import bank.

The FAST Act includes multiple provisions critically important to agriculture such as regulatory relief measures, policies that improve the movement of freight, and a provision that restores crop insurance funding.

“The City of Portland is happy that Congress passed a transportation bill”, said PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera.

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.

Another provision of the transportation bill would lift the cap on damages in railway accidents to $295 million, from $200 million. The derailment killed eight people and injured almost 200 others.