Date: 2014-07-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me thank the gentleman from Colorado and. as well. the manager of this rule. I too rise to be able to push for voting "no" on the previous question. dealing with making sure that we fix the taking away of womens rights as it relates to choice and pass the it is not my bosss business legislation that gets us back rightside up. taking care of women and their rights. in particular. as it relates to their own body and their family choices as well. to make sure that they have the right to take care of their own family. Let me also say that I would wish and had hoped that the present underlying bill. the Highway and Transportation Funding Act. was truly a bill that committed to the American people that we believe in the investment of infrastructure in creating jobs. This is not what this bill is. This is a temporary fix. saying to the American cities and transit centers. our transit facilities. and buses and highways and freeways. that you are only a side thought here in the United States Congress. We will give you a small amount of money. transferring $9.8 billion from the general fund and $1 billion from the leaking underground storage tank trust fund. just to give you a temporary fix. We are going to put a finger in the dam. We are not going to have a concerted. concentrated. responsible assessment of Americas transportation needs so that we can fund it. We are not going to ask Houston metro what monies they need. We are not going to ask Texas what monies they need. We are not going to ask New York or California. I would simply say we have got to get away from the I dont believe in government crowd and work with the people who understand that government has a role. The Federal Government has a role. It is a rescue facility. It is an SOS. It helps people in need. when the States are in need. and it helps to build infrastructure. The highway system that President Eisenhower. a Republican. createdwhich we have been recognized forhere. we are nickelanddiming. so I hope that we will get down to the table. work with those of us who are concerned. Finally. vote "no" on the previous question because it is not your bosss business. If you want to have family planning. it is certainly not your bosss business. Madam Speaker. as a senior member of the Homeland Security. I rise in to speak on the rule and in support of the underlying bill. H.R. 5021. the "Highway and Transportation Funding Act." which reauthorizes federalaid highway and transit programs for eight monthsthrough May 31. 2015by transferring $10.8 billion from in other federal funds to the Highway Trust Fund to cover projected trust fund shortfalls over that time. Instead of this temporary extension. I would have strongly preferred that we were debating a comprehensive. fair. equitable. and longterm transportation reauthorization bill the nation desperately needs. We have had two years to do so. Democrats want such a bill as does the President. But apparently our friends across the aisle do not since they have spent the last two years wasting time on advocating policies wanted by no one except for the rightwing extremists of the Tea Party. But I support this emergency but temporary measure because as the Department of Transportation has reported. if we do not act now highway trust fund balances by the beginning of August will reach dangerously low levels and result in a reduction of payments to states by an average of 28 percent. Many states have already begun to cancel or delay planned construction projects. threatening 700.000 thousands of jobs. including 106.100 jobs in my home state of Texas. The funds to be transferred are $9.8 billion from the General Fund and $1 billion from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund. The cost of the transfer from the general fund of the Treasury is offset through an extension of customs fees and "pension smoothing." which is a euphemism for allowing some large corporations to underfund their pension systems. Madam Speaker. the Highway Trust Fund was created in 1956 during the Eisenhower Administration to help finance construction of the Interstate Highway System. which modernized the nations transportation infrastructure and was instrumental in making the United States the worlds dominant economic power for two generations. Our national leaders then understood that investing in our roads and bridges strengthened our economy. created millions of goodpaying jobs. and improved the quality of life for all Americans. It is currently composed of two accounts that fund federalaid highway and transit projects built by states. Federal funding from the trust fund accounts for a major portion of state transportation spending. The Highway Trust Fund is financed by gasoline and diesel taxes. which until the last decade produced a steady increase in revenues sufficient to accommodate increased levels of spending on highway and transit projects. However. those tax rates18.4 cents/gallon federal tax on gasoline and a 24.4 cents/gallon tax on diesel fuelhave remained unchanged since 1993 and were not indexed to inflation so the value of those revenues has eroded over the years. and. combined with the fact that vehicles have been getting increasingly better mileage. the revenues deposited into the Highway Trust Fund beginning last decade have not kept pace with highway and transit spending from the trust fund. Consequently. since 2008. Congress has periodically had to transfer at the 11th hour general Treasury revenues into the trust fund to pay for authorized highway and transit spending levels and avoid a funding shortfall. The total amount to date is $54 billion. Obviously. this is practice is economically inefficient and injects uncertainty in the highway construction plans. projects. and schedules of state and local transportation agencies. not to mention the anxiety it causes to workers and businesses who economic livelihood is dependent on those projects. Madam Speaker. the last transportation authorized by Congress for 4 years or more. SAFETEALU. expired on September 30. 2009. at the end of FY 2009. Because Congress and the Administration could not agree to a new reauthorization. it was necessary to resort to stopgap temporary extensions on no less than eight occasions spanning a period of 910 days before Congress finally enacted the "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act" (MAP21 Act) on July 6. 2012. which reauthorized highway and transportation programs through Fiscal Year 2014. a little more than two years. or until September 30. 2014. MAP21 was intended as a shortterm measure to give Congress and the Administration breathing room to reach agreement on a longterm reauthorization bill. Yet. as Mr. LEVIN. the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee. has pointed out. since gaining the majority in 2010. his Republican colleagues have failed to take any action to sustain the Highway Trust Fund over the longterm and shore up vital infrastructure projects and has not held even a single hearing on financing options for the Highway Trust Fund. Instead. House Republicans have wasted the nations time voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 50 times. waging a War on Women. voting to hold the Attorney General in contempt. pursuing partisan investigations into Benghazi. the IRS. and the Fast and Furious scandal originating in the Bush Administration. Instead of doing their job. their big new idea is to sue the President for doing his job. Madam Speaker. enough is enough. It is long past time for this Congress. and especially the House majority. to focus on the real problems and challenges facing the American people. And one of the biggest of those challenges is ensuring that American has a transportation policy and the infrastructure needed to compete and win in the global economy of the 21 st Century. To that we have to do extend the reauthorization of current transportation programs and to authorize the transfer of the funds to the Highway Trust Fund needed to fund authorized construction projects and keep 700.000 workers. including 106.100 in Texas on the job. But that is only a start and just a part of our job. The real work that needs to be done in the remaining days of this Congress is to reach an agreement on a longterm highway and transportation bill that is fair. equitable. fiscally responsible. creates jobs and leads to sustained economic growth.