Obama Slams But Signs 90-Day Highway Bill

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DALLAS — President Obama criticized lawmakers for the latest short-term extension of federal transportation funding before signing the 90-day fix to the Highway Trust Fund that Congress passed last week.

"We can't keep on funding transportation by the seat of our pants, three months at a time," Obama said before the July 31 signing in the Oval Office.  "It's just not how the greatest country on Earth should be doing its business."

Obama signed the bill just hours before the Transportation Department was to begin rationing the reimbursements to states for highway and transit projects with the expiration of the two-month HTF patch approved by Congress in May.

"If this wasn't in front of me and ready for signature, we would end up having projects all across the country that would be closing after midnight," he said.

The measure adopted by the House on July 29 and the Senate a day later extends the Transportation Department's authority to make payments to states from the HTF until Oct. 29. The bill, H.R. 3236, also transfers $8.1 billion of general revenues into the HTF to keep it solvent through mid-December.

"I guarantee you this is not how China, Germany, other countries around the world handle their infrastructure," Obama said. "We can't have bridges collapsing and potholes not being filled because Congress can't come up with an adequate plan to fund our infrastructure budget for more than three or five or six months at a time."

Lawmakers have a narrow window of opportunity to reach agreement on a fully funded, multiyear transportation bill before the late October deadline, Obama said.

"I hope that Republicans can work things out among themselves as well as work out things with Democrats," he said. "I think we've got to do some intra-party negotiations as well as negotiations between the parties."

Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he expects the House to pass a multiyear highway bill in September.

The differences between the House bill and the Senate's six-year proposal could be resolved in early October with a conference committee before the HTF extension runs out, he said.

The Senate passed the six-year DRIVE Act on July 30 before adopting the House's 90-day fix a few hours later. The Senate bill was filed originally as S. 1647 but later was attached to a House bill, H.R. 22, to accelerate its passage.

The DRIVE Act is fully funded for only the first three years with a $45 billion general fund transfer to supplement the federal gasoline tax and other levies dedicated to the HTF.

The Senate's under-funded proposal does not match the nation's needs, said House Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

"It is a short-term patch masquerading as a long-term bill, paying for only half of the six years it claims to fund our highway and transit programs," Hoyer said Monday.

"We must take the next three months to reach agreement on a sustainable and long-term funding source for the infrastructure repairs and improvements necessary to attract businesses and maintain our global economic competitiveness," he said.

Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, conceded that the 34th HTF fix in six years was needed to avoid serious disruptions to projects on Aug. 1.

"But this is the third time in 10 months that Congress has had to keep the HTF solvent through passage of a short-term extension," Wright said.

The House should pass a multiyear highway bill "as soon as possible when they return to D.C. in September" following the five-week August recess, Wright said.

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