After Congress approved a two-month extension for highway and transit programs (H.R. 2353) before the May 31st deadline, the work has began for a long-term authorization for transportation funding. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to host a field hearing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana this week.
Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) and ranking member Barbara Boxer (D-CA) have said they are working on a six-year re-authorization bill that will be ready for mark-up on June 24. In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and ranking member Sander Levin (D-MI), the Congressional Budget Office said the highway trust fund would need $8 billion in additional revenue to meet its obligations until the end of the calendar year. A six-year re-authorization bill maintaining current spending levels would result in a highway fund revenue shortfall of $85 to $90 billion.
Following this issue is of utmost importance to NC lawmakers as they prepare a two-year budget spending plan which also includes transportation. If the federal government doesn’t fully fund the highway shortfall, then states will be forced to pick up the tab as well as re-prioritize their transportation spending.
