On June 29, Congress passed the long-awaited, 27-month surface transportation bill, H.R. 4348 –also known as MAP-21 – that allows more than $100 billion to be spent on highway, mass transit and other transportation programs. The previous bill, known as SAFETEA-LU, expired in 2009. Since that time, Congress has maintained transportation initiatives through temporary extensions.
The passage of this bill allows the federal government to continue to collect gas taxes and manage the Highway Trust Fund and its Mass Transit account that disburses revenues to road, transit, railroad, water, bicycling, and pedestrian transportation infrastructure projects across the country. More importantly, according to CNN.com, “The transportation bill funds construction for highways, bridges and other transportation projects for two years in every state and congressional district in the nation.” The bill will sustain and create thousands of jobs across the country.
President Obama signed a one-week extension to the existing law on June 30 and is expected to sign the new bill into law today at a White House ceremony. Read the Reuters story here.
