Missouri’s congressional delegation supports passage of federal highway bill

The bill was approved 359-65 in the House, and 83-16 in the Senate. He also praised Shuster and the lawmakers he worked with in the conference committee.

Congressional negotiators from the Senate and House have agreed to a $305 billion, five-year highway bill.

The FAST Act includes over $6.8 billion in funding allocated to the state of Georgia through FY2020, which is $607 million above the funding levels set by 2012’s MAP 21 Act.

“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. His leadership was essential through tough negotiations that have led to a bill that will benefit all Americans”.

Boozman added, “For the first time in ten years, we have a long-term highway bill that will allow Arkansas and other states to provide certainty for important infrastructure improvements, which are so vital to our economic well-being”.

The federal 18.4 cents-a-gallon gas tax, the main source of Trust Fund revenues, hasn’t been increased since 1993 and no longer covers annual spending on transportation.

Wicker, who also was active in shaping the bill, said it includes more than $2.7 billion for investments in Mississippi.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association championed the provision as the best way to ensure reaching consumers in case of tire safety recalls, but the Tire Industry Association said the mandatory registration system as now written is both hopelessly outdated and unfairly punitive to independent dealers.

To make up the shortfall, the bill uses about $70 billion in mostly budget gimmicks, including one that would move $53 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank’s capital account to the general treasury.

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.

“Sadly, Congress has opted to pilfer tomorrow’s dollars to pay for today’s need to rebuild and modern(ize) our country’s transportation system”, Carper, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.

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.

Among the bill’s losers are large banks, which would receive lower dividends from the Federal Reserve, with the savings used for transportation programs.

For riders concerned about train safety, the measure could force Amtrak to pay $295 million – up from $200 million – in damages as a result of the May train derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight people.

Increase customs fees paid by airline and cruise ship passengers by indexing the fees to inflation despite objections from the airline and travel industries. The bill also provides $200 million to help railroads install the safety technology that could have prevented the accident.