On Friday, August 8, President Obama signed into law the $11-billion, ten-month Highway Trust Fund patch that Congress passed on July 31 to extend funding for the federal surface transportation law, MAP-21, through May 2015.
H.R.5021, Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 is a temporary fix that avoids a cash crisis in the Highway Trust Fund. Without a new funding measure, the shortfall would have threatened to delay federal payments to states starting in August.
It had been unlikely that Congress would approve a long-term road funding bill before federal elections this November, so this action effectively punts the larger problem to the next Congress. The 114th Congress will face the challenge of funding a long-term bill before the new expiration date in mid-2015.
The majority of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation voted for the temporary funding measure. House of Representatives for: Duffy, Kind, Moore, Petri, Pocan, Ryan; against: Ribble, Sensenbrenner. Senate for: Baldwin; against: Johnson.