On Wednesday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said at a hearing that the Federal Highway Trust Fund will have an estimated $5 billion to $7 billion shortfall to keep current construction projects going. 

James Corless, director of Transportation for America released the following statement calling for a long-term fix to this problem:

“For the second time in two years, Congress is facing the prospect of transferring money from other needs to a transportation fund that is supposed to be self-sustaining. At the same time, public transit riders across the country are facing rising fares and shrinking service. Clearly, this is a national transportation system in need of a long-term fix. However, Americans will not be willing to pay more toward transportation, whether in gas taxes, tolls, fares or other fees, unless they know they are going to get something of real value.

“That is what makes the upcoming authorization of the six-year transportation bill so critical: this is the time to repair the transportation funding system while offering a bold new vision to keep America moving. Any short-term patch to the highway trust fund must come with similar emergency help for transit riders. More importantly, it must include a real vision for what the American people are going to get for their money.”