Senate’s Fiscally Responsible, Bipartisan Highway Bill Headed for Passage
‘A multi-year bill is now our joint goal. That’s important for our country. We know it represents the best way to provide state and local governments with the kind of certainty they need to focus on longer-term road and bridge projects.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the bipartisan multi-year highway bill:
“Late nights, vigorous legislating, and sometimes-unpredictable outcomes may make some reach for the aspirin.
“But these are the hallmarks of a functioning Congress.
“The push and pull between different parties, different members, and different chambers is all just part of the democratic rhythm.
“That’s especially true when you’re talking about a measure as complicated and consequential as a multi-year highway bill.
“I’m pleased to see Republicans and Democrats continuing to hold together to pass the Senate’s bipartisan highway legislation. We’re on the verge of scoring another important victory for the American people.
“Once the Senate completes its work on the bill, the House of Representatives will begin its work on a multi-year measure too.
“A multi-year bill is now our joint goal. That’s important for our country. We know it represents the best way to provide state and local governments with the kind of certainty they need to focus on longer-term road and bridge projects. Here’s how Kentucky’s main transportation advocacy group, Kentuckians for Better Transportation, put it: a longer-term bill would ‘provide an opportunity to plan for and implement projects that are important to Kentucky's citizens and to Kentucky’s economy - and to every other state in the nation.’
“We’ll conference the legislation we pass with what the House passes, and then send a unified bill to the President.
“In the meantime, we’ll work with our friends in the House to pass a measure that will give them the space they need to develop a multi-year highway bill. It’s also a measure that would deliver some important relief to our veterans by covering unfunded requirements the administration failed to budget for. It would extend a helping hand to heroes who need it.
“I can’t see a reason any Senator would vote against it.
“So we’ll take up that bill once the House sends it to us. And we’ll continue working in the interim to finish our own bipartisan, multi-year highway bill — a bill that’s fiscally responsible and won’t raise taxes by a penny.”
Related Issues: Highway Bill
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