Carper Statement on Senate Vote to Provide One-Year Extension of Our Nation’s Surface Transportation Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted 84-10 to pass the Continuing Resolution, which included a one-year extension for surface transportation programs through September 30, 2021.

“This one-year extension of our nation’s surface transportation systems will provide state and local transportation agencies with the certainty they need to plan and manage their programs and projects through the next year. By helping to keep job sites open, this one-year extension will also help to ensure that hundreds of thousands of hardworking men and women can keep taking home their well-earned pay after an honest day’s of work.

“No doubt, it is a relief that Congress just narrowly missed a completely avoidable transportation funding crisis. This is good news given what the wide-ranging consequences of our inaction could have been. But, to be clear, this is nowhere near the investment and long-term certainty that our states, cities, businesses and constituents so desperately need right now.

“The Environment and Public Works Committee reported surface transportation reauthorization legislation unanimously out of committee last summer. It is beyond a shame that the Senate has not been able to take action on that bill given the strong support for it. We could be working right now to reconcile it with the comprehensive transportation legislation passed by the House of Representatives this summer. Making significant investments to repair, rebuild and modernize our nation’s roads, bridges, highways, railways and transit systems is a high priority for the American people.

“As the countdown begins for this one-year extension to expire, I’m committed to ensure that a robust surface transportation reauthorization remains at the top of Congress’s to do list. We have an opportunity and an obligation to the American people to make significant investments in our transportation systems in a way that creates millions of new jobs, improves the conditions of our roads, highways, bridges and transit systems, enhances resilience in the face of the climate crisis and reduces harmful pollution. The American people are counting on us, and we can’t let them down again.”

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