Sen. Carper Welcomes House Proposal to Continue Work on Long-Term Transportation Bill Through July

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) welcomed the bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Bill Shuster (R-Penn.) to extend the authorization of surface transportation programs to July 31, 2015.
 
Yesterday, Sens. Carper and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the two top Democrats on the Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced a similar bill to extend the authorization of surface transportation programs to July 31, 2015. Currently authorization for these programs is set to expire May 31, 2015 although the Highway Trust Fund is expected to have sufficient funds to reimburse states for project costs through sometime in July 2015.
 
The Carper-Boxer bill also calls on the House and Senate to complete work on a long-term authorization of surface transportation programs and send a bill to the president for his signature as soon as possible. 
 
“Senator Boxer and I introduced a bill yesterday aimed at keeping the critical conversation about the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund on Congress’s front burner this summer,” Sen. Carper said. “I welcome the introduction of the Chairman Ryan and Chairman Shuster bill that seems to be a step in that direction. I look forward to working with the two of them, and the rest of my Congressional colleagues, to pass a long-term transportation bill that gives cities, states and businesses the certainty they deserve and need to plan for major infrastructure upgrades.”

###