Mr. Boehner, It’s Time to Fix the Highway Trust Fund

Congress is running out of time to act on the Highway Trust Fund.  The situation is so dire, the National Governors Association, National Conference on State Legislatures, Council of State Governments, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the International City/County Management Association issued a joint call to Congress and Speaker Boehner to fix the Highway Trust Fund:

On behalf of the national organizations that represent state and local officials, we urge Congress to ensure the continued solvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), while committing to pass a long-term agreement on surface transportation funding as part of a multi-year reauthorization of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act.

As the owners and operators of 97 percent of the nation's interconnected surface transportation systems, state and local governments know that a long-term vision and funding certainty are best for our country's infrastructure.Jobs, infrastructure projects and the safe and timely movement of freight are now at risk because of the impending insolvency of the HTF.

State and local governments have had to find ways to fix, fund and finance transportation infrastructure to meet the needs of the nation's communities. However, we cannot do it all. We believe that a commitment to surface transportation at all levels of government is necessary and that each level – including the federal government – has a crucial role to play to achieve overall success and keep America competitive in a 21st century economy.

Federal inaction and short-term extensions create uncertainty at the state and local levels, which hinders transformative transportation investments and prevents our nation's economy from moving forward. Our national organizations stand together to collectively urge Congress to find a long-term fix for the HTF and pass a multi-year surface transportation authorization bill. Let's get it done together. 

Speaker Boehner, listen to state and local leaders.  This brinksmanship needs to stop.  It is time to fix the Highway Trust Fund, rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure and reinvest in American jobs.