House of Representatives Extends Highway Funding

Press Release

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 3819, the Surface Transportation Extension Act, to temporarily extend the authorization for federal highway and transit programs through November 20, 2015. This short-term bill maintains the status quo until the 6-year reauthorization bill that was recently passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee can be considered. Congressman Gene Green released the following statement:

"This short-term extension is the next step toward a more permanent solution. It provides a little breathing room for the House to pass a bigger bill before November 20th. Although we've heard this rhetoric before, this time Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio showed leadership in working across party lines to pass a long-term, comprehensive highway reauthorization bill out of their committee. While the long-term bill only funds the first three years of projects, the legislation is far better than the three month extensions we've operated under in previous years. Constructing infrastructure requires long-range planning, long-lead materials and long-term contracts. None of this can be effectively accomplished without a multi-year authorization. I support the current effort with the hope that Congress will finish the job."

Source