reichert.house.gov

David Reichert
Contact:
Abigail Shilling (202) 225-7761



Reichert Applauds Passage of Fix for Highway Trust Fund


Washington, D.C., Sep 11 -

Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) applauded the final passage of H.R.6532, legislation which ensures the Highway Trust Fund will remain solvent and funding will be available to maintain projects in the Eighth District and across the country. It includes an $8 billion funding boost, essentially a repayment from the General Treasury Fund from dollars it borrowed in 1998 from the Trust Fund when it had a surplus.


 


The Department of Transportation announced last week that the Highway Account of the Trust Fund would run out of money by the end of this month, much sooner than anticipated. The Highway Trust Fund depends on taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel and is dedicated to maintaining and improving the nation’s highways and transit systems.  Partly due to the high gas prices forcing Americans to drive less, Trust Fund receipts are declining more dramatically than previously expected.  Without an infusion of funds, DOT predicted the Highway Account of the Trust Fund would go into the red by the end of September.


 


“I’m pleased to see this bill pass before we adjourn, to keep critical transportation projects moving forward,” said Reichert. “As the House passed the original bill in July, we were glad to see the Senate act on the legislation yesterday so transportation funding wouldn’t run dry. With record congestion, and severe infrastructure problems such as the 520 bridge, Washington State residents want to see Congress work on solutions – not only this patch – but a more comprehensive solution to solve the transportation problems that residents, commuters and families deal with on a daily basis.”


 


The bill will save over $207 million to Washington State and over 7,000 related jobs. Without this legislation, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials has estimated that the shortfall could lead to a loss nationwide of nearly 380,000 jobs.


 


For more of Dave’s work on transportation, visit: http://reichert.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=4004.


 


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