A Senate panel unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to boost highway spending, but still must find the money to cover the costs.
The federal government relies on an 18.4-cents-a-gallon federal gasoline tax to pay for highway projects. But the tax, which hasn't been raised since 1993, no longer generates enough money to cover federal spending, and lawmakers are reluctant to increase it.
The result has been a series of short-term funding bills. The latest expiries at the end of July.
The bipartisan bill approved Wednesday would give state and local governments more flexibility to spend federal money on local projects. And it would authorize federal highway projects for the next six years.
The legislation also would increase spending by an average of 3 percent a year and provide new funding to improve freight delivery and would set aside money for rural projects. Now, senators will work to come up with a way to pay for the bill before sending it to the full Senate.
"Our nation's roads and highways have suffered under too many short-term extensions, which have led to higher costs, more waste, and less capability to prioritize major modernization projects to address growing demands on our interstates," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The bill "will provide states and local communities with the certainty they deserve to plan and construct infrastructure projects efficiently," he said.
Inhofe's panel passed the bill without dissent.
The gasoline tax generates about $35 billion a year, and the federal government spends about $50 billion a year on transportation projects. Congress would have to come up with an additional $90 billion to $100 billion over the next six years to fund the long-term measure.
