Senate tries to pass short-term Highway Trust Fund extension this week; some Dems consider voting no
SENATE MAY EXTEND HIGHWAY FUND
Senate tries to pass short-term Highway Trust Fund extension this week before recess. The Hill:
“The extension lasting through the end of July would give Congress extra time to find a way toward a long-term infrastructure bill … Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) placed it on the Senate calendar before adjourning last Thursday, which would allow a vote this week before the full Senate. The House is slated to take up a two-month extension bill on Tuesday.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/votes/242284-this-week-highways-trade-and-nsa-top-agenda
House Dems consider voting “no.” Roll Call:
“Voting against a bill that would keep countless transportation and infrastructure projects — and jobs — afloat past May 31 is hard to defend at first blush. Still, a growing number of Democrats and even some GOP moderates are arguing what’s more destructive is the succession of short-term patches preventing longterm certainty and sustainability.
http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/democrats-face-risky-votes-ahead-memorial-day-recess/
Sen. Cory Booker sounds alarm on infrastructure. The Hill:
“‘The United States of America is falling behind dramatically its global peers in terms of the quality of its infrastructure,’ Booker said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘China invests about 9 percent of their G.D.P. in infrastructure, Japan 6 percent, Europe 5 percent. America’s only doing 1.5 percent,’ said Booker, noting that the U.S. has ‘trillions of dollars of an infrastructure debt.'”
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/242338-booker-decries-state-of-us-infrastructure