Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 31, 2014. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, today took to the floor to blast Republican leadership for refusing to consider the Senate’s short-term fix for the Highway Trust Fund. The Senate version, which passed with bipartisan support, would’ve provided a path for Congress to take up a long-term, sustainable transportation bill before the end of the year.
“We are forgoing an incredible boost to our economy that could put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work and put our country back on track for world-class infrastructure,” DeFazio said. “Instead, we kicked the can down the road once again. States still face the same uncertainty, long-term projects remain idle and an incredible mechanism to create jobs remains untapped.”
To see DeFazio’s full floor speech, click here.
Last month, DeFazio introduced H.R. 4848, the Repeal and Rebuild Act. This long-term funding bill would repeal the federal gas tax and replace it with a modest tax on a barrel of oil. DeFazio’s bill would raise more than $100 billion, enough to fund highway and transit programs for the next six years, thereby creating and saving hundreds of thousands of jobs.
A recent Standard & Poor’s report found each $1.3 billion investment creates $2 billion in real economic growth, reduces the federal deficit by $200 million and creates at least 29,000 jobs.
Source: defazio.house.gov
