Rep. Lipinski Leads Effort to Fix Roads and Public Transit

Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) is being joined by Congressman Reid Ribble (WI-8) in leading a bipartisan group of almost 300 members of Congress, as well as interested stakeholders from across the nation, in calling for House Leadership to advance a responsibly paid-for, multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill in the coming months.

"Very simply, we support transportation and infrastructure investment because our economy needs a national system to safely move people and deliver goods from place to place," said Rep. Lipinski and his colleagues in a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "The current extension of the Highway Trust Fund is slated to expire on May 31st of this year. This is not a long way off. We are united in our conviction that now is the time to end the cycle of short-term extensions that kick the can down the road by doing the work needed to pass a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill."

Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives have consistently recognized the importance of a well-functioning and efficient surface transportation network in the United States. Our nation, including constituents in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and distribution sectors, needs robust transportation infrastructure to compete in the global economy. Without such a network, the United States will be less able to realize future economic growth.

"We were pleased that Congress was able to enact the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act in 2012, but we are more troubled by the significant uncertainty that has plagued federal highway and transit policy in recent years," Rep. Lipinski said. "In the last decade, there have been nine short-term extensions of highway and transit programs. This kind of uncertainty impedes economic growth and makes it difficult for our country to fulfill its competitive potential."

Congressman Lipinski and most of his peers on both sides of aisle support efforts to develop a long-term sustainable revenue source for our nation's transportation network as soon as possible. Otherwise, our country will not be able to enact a transportation bill that truly meets our economic and infrastructure needs.

Rep. Lipinski is Illinois' most senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

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