BUSTOS CALLS FOR PASSAGE OF LONG-TERM HIGHWAY FUNDING BILL TO PROTECT ILLINOIS PROJECTS & JOBS

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, reiterated her call for Congress to take up and pass a long-term highway funding bill to protect Illinois transportation projects and jobs.

Watch Bustos’ Speech On The Floor Of The U.S. House of Representatives HERE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 15, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, reiterated her call for Congress to take up and pass a long-term highway funding bill to protect Illinois transportation projects and jobs. Without action by Congress, the Highway and Transit Trust Fund will expire at the end of July. Hundreds of thousands of jobs and thousands of vital construction projects across the country are hanging in the balance.

Bustos is a strong proponent of investing in transportation and infrastructure priorities. Earlier this month, Bustos held events to call for a long-term highway bill with local officials in Rockford, Peoria and Moline. Earlier this year, she sent letters to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, outlining her transportation priorities and advocating for expanding passenger rail service from Chicago to Rockford to Galena. She is also fighting to expand local control over federal transportation dollars by joining with Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13) and introducing the bipartisan Innovation in Surface Transportation Act. This bill would create a competitive in-state grant process in which eligible local entities may compete for a larger portion of federal transportation funding.

Video of Busto’s floor speech can be found HERE. Her prepared remarks are below:

I rise to urge my colleagues to take up and pass a long overdue bill to fund our roads and bridges for the long-term.Yet again, we are approaching the end of a short-term extension, with the Highway Trust Fund in danger of expiring at the end of this month. We can’t keep kicking the can down the road. We need a long-term bill, and we need it now. In my Congressional District alone, there are 421 structurally deficient bridges. Earlier this month, I stood along the Murray Baker Bridge in Peoria—a bridge that spans the Illinois River. While the concrete of this bridge is only a decade old, its iron structure is in need of replacement. Further northwest on Interstate 74, another bridge connects Illinois and Iowa over the Mighty Mississippi River. Built for daily traffic of around 40,000 cars half a century ago, the bridge now averages twice as many vehicles each day. Former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood identified this bridge as one of the worst he’s ever seen. The families I represent deserve the peace of mind of knowing their roads and bridges are safe, secure and up-to-date. Our businesses, local officials and planners deserve the certainty of a long-term bill. Let’s act now on a long-term bill and provide the certainty that America deserves.