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Funding Alert: House passes extension to transportation package
September 25, 2009 - Congress put off a decision on the new six-year federal transportation spending bill. On September 23, 2009, HR 3617, by a 335-85 vote, the U.S. House passed a three-month extension to the existing law that expires Sept. 30. This keeps the current six-year, $286 billion program running through Dec. 31
The three-month extension bill now heads to the Senate, which has not yet voted to extend the funding law by 18 months, as asked by the Obama administration.
The bill does not stop the cancellation of the 2005 transportation law known as SAFETEA-LU to expire September 30, 2009. This will take away $8.7 billion in funding from state transportation agencies throughout the United States.
Funding Alert: Congress approves $7 billion transfer to Highway Trust Fund
July 31, 2009 the US House and Senate passed HR 3357, which approves the $7 billion transfer for the Highway Trust Fund from the federal government's General Fund to ensure state transportation departments will continue receiving full reimbursements for federal-aid highway projects through September, the end of the current federal fiscal year. The Highway Trust Fund anticipated a $3.2 Billion deficit by August 2009.
- Federal Highway Trust Fund insolvent for the second year in a row
- Increased fuel standards result in reduced gas tax revenue
- Decrease in vehicle miles traveled nationally, results in decrease gas use/tax
- Cost of highway construction materials has increased by 40 percent since 2003 (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- $1.7 Billion a year in additional revenues needed for transportation in Pennsylvania
- PennDOT lost over $350 million in purchasing power due to inflation (since the last state gas tax increase
of 3.5 cents in 1997).
- Aging Infrastructure
- Bridges: PA is the nation’s 3rd largest state with state-owned bridges (over 20’ in length),
- PA has the nation’s greatest number of bridges over 75 years old.
- PA has more bridges in critical need of immediate repair than any other state in the U.S. (click here, to learn more)
- Highway: PA state highway network is the 5th largest in the U.S.
- Truck traffic is more than double the national average on the state’s 1,754 miles of interstate roads (including
the PA Turnpike).
* Transportation Funding and Reform Commission, 2006
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