The House Passes Infrastructure Funding “Patch” — Again

By Taylor Garland
May 20 2015 |
Amtrak train travelling the Northeast Corridor. | Photo via Flickr User Ryan Stavely

The first step is admitting you have a problem. But what comes next?

Kicking the can down the road. That seems to be Congress’ favorite pastime when it comes to dealing with our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

The House of Representatives passed a two-month extension of the Highway Trust Fund on Tuesday. The Senate is expected to pass the measure and send it to President Obama before the holiday weekend.

Feel like you’re experiencing déjà vu? That’s because we’ve been here before.

Congress has passed 32 short-term “patches” in the last six years. And it has now been over a decade since it last passed a long-term infrastructure investment bill.

“This era of short-term patches and chronic federal underinvestment has crippled America’s ability to build the transportation system we need,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx writes in a blog post.

This is simply unacceptable. By kicking the can down the pothole-ridden road, Congress is leaving millions of good-paying jobs on the table. More than 2.5 million new jobs would be created by a long-term transportation bill worth $114 billion annually. Each $1 billion in infrastructure investment creates more than 21,000 new jobs.

Our crumbling infrastructure also puts the safety of those who use it at risk. In the case of the tragic derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia last week, experts have said that “speed-control measures used elsewhere by the railroad could have prevented the crash.”

Congress needs to figure out a long-term solution to our infrastructure woes. In the meantime, American lives, jobs, and competitiveness are at risk.