Senate Turns Up the Heat for Infrastructure Legislation

Transportation advocates in the U.S. Senate are once again urging passage of infrastructure legislation as they face a Dec. 20 deadline to avoid a government shutdown and decide a course for fiscal 2020 funding.

he leadership of the Senate highway policy panel is ramping up its call to fellow policymakers about the need for comprehensive transportation legislation. In late July, the Environment and Public Works Committee approved a five-year bill that focused primarily on the country’s surface transportation network.">Transport Topics reports that he leadership of the Senate highway policy panel is ramping up its call to fellow policymakers about the need for comprehensive transportation legislation. In late July, the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved a five-year bill that focused primarily on the country’s surface transportation network.

“Our country’s infrastructure needs are significant," said EPW Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and ranking Democrat Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware. "Nearly 200,000 miles of major highways are in need of repairs, repaving, or rebuilds. It’s time for Congress to pass significant, bipartisan surface transportation infrastructure legislation.”

The two sponsored the $287 billion bill meant to update a 2015 highway law. Senate committees with jurisdiction over highway funding, freight, and transit policy have yet to announce when they plan to contribute their portions to the EPW transportation bill.

Source: Transport Topics