Wyden, Hatch Announce Agreement on Highway Trust Fund Fix

Finance Leaders Plan Swift Action to Keep Program Solvent and Preserve Jobs

WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, today announced an agreement to sustain the Highway Trust Fund while they negotiate a long term plan.

“Allowing the Highway Trust Fund to go insolvent next month, clogging the roads Americans use every day and costing us hundreds of thousands of jobs, would be legislative malpractice and I’m not willing to let that happen,” Wyden said. “I’m pleased that Senator Hatch and I were able to compromise on a solution and deliver a true bipartisan path forward.  At the same time we must push forward to define a sustainable, long term plan to modernize our infrastructure needs.”

“Today’s proposal is a balanced and viable bill that addresses the immediate needs of the highway trust fund,” Hatch said. “And while I had hoped our counterparts on the other side of the aisle would accept cuts to wasteful and low-priority spending as a way to pay for the bill, our proposal is nonetheless a bipartisan product forged by compromise. Moving forward, I am committed to addressing the chronic underfunding of the highway trust fund for the long-term.”

The Finance Committee will convene an open executive session on Thursday, July 10, to vote on legislation that would sustain the Highway Trust Fund through the calendar year. The markup of the bill, entitled the Preserving America’s Transit and Highways (PATH) Act will take place at 2:30 p.m. in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. 

The Highway Trust Fund provides reimbursement to states for road and bridge construction, transit infrastructure and operations, and safety programs. The fund faces insolvency later this summer due to a revenue shortfall that is causing grave uncertainty as state governments plan infrastructure projects.

A description of the Wyden-Hatch Modification bill can be found here. A summary of provisions can be found here. A JCT estimate of revenue effects can be found here.

Media are encouraged to attend the open executive session or to view the webcast and witness testimony at http://finance.senate.gov/hearings.

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