Date: 2015-11-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. a senior member of the Homeland Security. I rise to speak on H.R. 3996. Surface Transportation Extension Act II of 2015." which reauthorizes federalaid highway and transit programs for two weeks through December 4. 2015. Mr. Speaker. instead of this 14day temporary extension. I would have strongly preferred that we were debating a final Conference Report on H.R. 22. the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015. which provides for what used to be the customary sixyear reauthorization of surface transportation programs to provide certainty and stability to the needed effort to repair. rebuild. and revitalize the nations crumbling infrastructure. The Senate Amendment to the Conference Report on H.R. 22. the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015. passed by a vote of 6534. nearly a twothirds majority. while the version of the bill passed by the House version of the bill. which included two Jackson Lee amendments. passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 36364. Mr. Speaker. I reluctantly support this emergency but temporary measure because as the Department of Transportation has reported. if we do not act now highway trust fund balances will reach dangerously low levels by November 20 and result in a reduction of payments to states by an average of 28 percent. Many states have already canceled or delayed planned construction projects. threatening 700.000 thousands of jobs. including 106.100 jobs in my home state of Texas. Mr. 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 more than $74 billion. Obviously. this 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. Mr. 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 often pointed out. since gaining the majority in 2010. our 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. Mr. Speaker. 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 America has a transportation policy and the infrastructure needed to compete and win in the global economy of the 21 st Century. To do that we have to 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 H.R. 22 that the President can sign that is fair. equitable. fiscally responsible. creates jobs and leads to sustained economic growth.