Senator Bob Corker on Tuesday criticized the Senate Finance Committee for failing to find a funding solution to the Highway Trust Fund, which funds improvements to roads, bridges and transit systems, in a way that meets the country’s long-term infrastructure needs and pays for the spending in the year it is spent.
The Senate Finance Committee announced Tuesday a short-term, $9 billion plan that would cover six months of transportation funding, but take a decade to pay for it.
“It’s a complete sham to borrow money for six months of transportation spending and pretend to pay it back over the next 10 years,” said Senator Corker. “Americans should be outraged and reject those who support this plan and are willing to sacrifice future generations because they don’t have the courage to pay for things that are important to our country or cut spending elsewhere. We can either pay for this responsibly or shut down the road program until there is enough money in the fund.
"The federal Highway Trust Fund provides more than half of the country’s spending on transportation projects and will begin to run dry in July, likely halting the construction of any new transportation projects without action from Congress. This will result in a 50-percent reduction in Tennessee’s transportation budget in 2015 and create a $160 billion hole in state budgets nationwide over the next decade at a time when they can least afford it."
Last week, Senator Corker and Senator Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) announced a bipartisan proposal that would create a long-term, stable funding mechanism for the Highway Trust Fund and enact tax relief for American families and businesses. For more information on this proposal, click here.