Kilmer Statement on House Passage of Short-Term Fix to Highway Trust Fund
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed legislation to continue investments in the Highway Trust Fund through May 2015 by a vote of 367-55.The measure will move to the Senate for consideration.
“The fact is our infrastructure is failing us. In Washington state we saw that up close when the bridge over the Skagit River collapsed – threatening lives and snarling traffic for days. The Highway Trust Fund is one of the best tools we have to bring our infrastructure grades up. But without action this fund that supports needed repairs to bridges and roads in our region was going to run out money in a few short weeks, putting more than 13,000 construction jobs in jeopardy and idling or stopping 1,600 projects in Washington state alone.
“While I’m glad the House came together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure Washington workers are not sent home and construction sites do not fall silent our work is far from over. It’s past time for Congress to find a practical long-term fix for our Highway Trust Fund so we don’t lurch from emergency to emergency. Only then can we bring certainty and predictability to our infrastructure needs.”
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