[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 23, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H6833-H6838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AMENDING THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986 TO RESTORE THE HIGHWAY TRUST 
                              FUND BALANCE

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 6532) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
restore the Highway Trust Fund balance.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6532

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. RESTORATION OF HIGHWAY TRUST FUND BALANCE.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (f) of section 9503 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to determination of 
     trust fund balances after September 30, 1998) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
     subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and by moving such 
     subparagraphs 2 ems to the right,
       (2) by striking ``For purposes'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes'',
       (3) by moving the flush sentence at the end of paragraph 
     (1), as so amended, 2 ems to the right, and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Restoration of fund balance.--Out of money in the 
     Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is hereby 
     appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund $8,017,000,000.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The last sentence of section 
     9503(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended 
     by subsection (a), is amended by striking ``subsection'' and 
     inserting ``paragraph''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on September 30, 2008.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. McCrery) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, may I ask unanimous consent to 
give Members 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on 
the bill, H.R. 6532.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, first let me thank my colleagues, Chairmen Rangel, 
Oberstar and DeFazio, for acting on this important issue.
  Madam Speaker, our roads need repair. Our State and local governments 
are struggling to make ends meet. Our drivers suffer when highway 
projects are delayed.
  This bill is a temporary fix for the estimated $4 billion shortfall 
in the highway trust fund.
  This bill should fully fund the highway trust fund through 2009, but 
we still need a long-term bipartisan solution. I want to be clear, no 
money, but no money is spent under this bill. That process is left up 
to the appropriators. This legislation simply amends the Internal 
Revenue Code provision only.
  Madam Speaker, transportation is the number one issue for many 
citizens in my district. Commuters sit in traffic for about 60 hours 
every year. Early this year, Forbes magazine declared the Atlanta metro 
area as the worst city for commuters in the country; the worst, Madam 
Speaker. If we fail to act today, our citizens, our States and our 
economy will suffer. We must act, and we must act today. We must act 
now.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in support of 
H.R. 6532.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself so much time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6532.
  I would say to my good friend, the chairman of the Transportation 
Committee, that I agree with him that the current financing structure 
for our transportation needs is inadequate. The bill before us today, 
though, I think just puts off the day that we will finally come to 
grips with the inadequacy of that financing structure and deal with it. 
And we should be dealing with the fundamental problem here and not just 
putting a patch, a temporary band-aid on it, such as this $8 billion 
transfer will do.
  So while I'm in agreement with the underlying, I suppose, motive for 
this bill, I think it is ill-advised because of the precedent that is 
sets. And it puts off to another day--which is easy for us to do--
grappling with the real serious problem of fundamental inadequate 
funding of our transportation system through the trust fund.
  So with that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Minnesota, chairman of the Transportation Committee, Mr. 
Oberstar.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the distinguished gentleman from the Committee 
on Ways and Means, whom we all admire and revere for his civil rights 
leadership. And we're delighted that he is bringing this legislation to 
the floor.
  I certainly appreciate the fiscal concern expressed by the 
distinguished

[[Page H6834]]

gentleman from Louisiana, Madam Speaker. He's right in this sense, that 
we have a long-term problem in the highway trust fund. And we're going 
to address that issue next year in the authorization of the Surface 
Transportation bill that the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure will bring through committee and to the House floor in 
good order, well before the expiration date of the current law. But 
meanwhile, there is a short-term problem.
  In 1998, when I think everybody I see on the floor who was serving in 
the House at that time, voted for what we affectionately know as TEA-
21, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, to put 
firewalls around the highway trust fund to ensure that those revenues 
would be invested in transportation and not held back in reserve to 
make deficits look smaller, as had been done from the time of President 
Lyndon Johnson in 1968 to 1998.
  As part of the agreement worked out by then chairman of our 
committee, Bud Shuster, with House Republican leadership, the Speaker, 
the Appropriations Committee, the Budget Committee, and on our side 
with the Clinton administration, we agreed to give up $29 billion of 
surplus in the highway trust fund for long-term debt reduction and 
short-term deficit reduction, and also to give up interest paid on 
revenues deposited in the highway trust fund from the collections every 
3 months--as is the practice--it would give that interest up as well. 
Eight billion dollars was transferred to make the deficit look smaller, 
and the rest went to long-term debt reduction.
  At the time, we had not only a balanced budget, but a budget in 
surplus. The prospects for the economy were shining. It was a rising 
economy. There were revenues galloping into the highway trust fund. But 
the economy has taken a bad turn. It has taken a bad turn on the backs 
of the cornerstone of the highway trust fund, which is the highway user 
fee. And for the first time since 1956, the establishment of the 
highway trust fund and the Interstate Highway Program, we have seen a 
decline in----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an 
additional minute.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. We have seen a decline in vehicle miles traveled. And 
that has meant a leveling off of revenues into the highway trust fund.
  We need this temporary adjustment to prevent a longer term shortfall 
in the highway trust in which the Association of Highway and State 
Transportation Officials said could be a $14 billion cut in Federal 
highway funding in the next year.
  Now, we already have 8.2 percent unemployment in the building trades, 
785,000 construction workers are out of work today. If you think the 
housing situation is bad, this will be worse if we have a huge hole in 
the highway trust fund.
  I assure my very sincere and genuine colleague from Louisiana, who 
has been a very fiscally responsible person, that this is a long-term, 
fiscally responsible action that we're taking here to close the hole in 
the highway trust fund, give us a little breathing space until next 
year, and come back with a longer term solution.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
ranking member of the Transportation Committee, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mica).
  Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker and my colleagues, let me tell you the situation we're 
in. The highway trust fund is basically busted; it's busted for several 
reasons.
  First of all, we depend on 18.4 cents of tax to come in on every 
gallon of gasoline to that fund. People are driving less, so there is 
less money coming into the fund. The fleet out there of cars and trucks 
are more efficient; people are buying more efficient hybrids. There are 
nine million hybrids, which are going further on one gallon and paying 
literally less; so we have less money coming in. We're also using more 
alternative fuels.
  What's going to happen, folks--and I have many of my conservative 
colleagues on this side of the aisle coming to me--$8 billion for the 
highway trust fund, why should I support this? I'm telling you, folks, 
we have no alternative but to support this right now.
  I think Mr. McCrery is correct, that we do have a problem; we need to 
solve the funding problem. We can't do that today. But what we've got 
to do today is make certain that this trust fund is sound; otherwise, 
in States across the country, hundreds of projects in Members' 
districts, the Department of Transportation Secretaries are going to be 
telling you we're closing down projects. Madam Speaker, 380,000 jobs 
could be lost. We could have a shortfall of as much as $14 billion in 
funding transportation. We've got to do this now.
  Now, the estimate came out last spring that we would be $3 billion 
short. We're going to get an estimate this week that will show us $5 to 
$6 billion short. That means the Federal Government is going to tell 
your States and your Secretaries to start closing down these projects 
if we don't have the Federal money to back the obligation that we made 
as a Federal Government to them.
  Unfortunately, the bill has come due, and we've got to pay it today. 
And this is a national crisis. This is a transportation situation. 
We've all got to work with each other and come up with a solution.
  Mr. McCrery is right, in the long term we've got to resolve the 
funding problem, the basic funding problem. Next September 30, the 
current legislation and policy we work on expires. I know Mr. Oberstar 
and I and others will work to come up with a formula that guarantees 
the solvency of this system.
  This is absolutely essential. I wish, as one of the strongest 
conservatives in the House, to have some other alternative to bring you 
today, but I do not have that.
  I thank the Ways and Means Committee for their cooperation, Mr. 
Oberstar for his cooperation. We must go forward, meet this obligation, 
and fund these projects.

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 3 minutes 
to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), chairman of the Highways 
and Transit Subcommittee.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. I thank my good friend and colleague for yielding the 
time.
  Madam Speaker, this is an extraordinarily serious problem. Americans 
today are already familiar with the problems of our transportation 
infrastructure. On a daily basis, trucks are detoured because of 
weight-limited bridges. Individuals are sitting idling in traffic in 
congestion because of inadequate and obsolete infrastructure. People 
are flooding on to transit at a record rate. Transit ridership is 
reaching levels that haven't been seen since we had a decent system of 
transit in this country 50, 60 years ago.
  But the stress on the system is extraordinary. People are trying to 
escape the high cost of gas. But our transit systems are struggling to 
pay the bills themselves. So this is not the time to begin to reduce 
our already pathetic and inadequate investment in our transportation 
infrastructure in the United States. The gas tax was 18.4 cents a 
gallon in 1993 and gas was a buck a gallon. Today, the gas tax is 18.3 
cents a gallon, and gas was $4.29 in my district last weekend. And that 
is not the cause of the run-up in price. And the buying and purchasing 
power of that small amount of tax is about half of what it was 15 years 
ago. So this is not the time to begin to think about even less 
investment. And that is what looms before us if this bill doesn't pass 
today and isn't signed into law by the President.
  Less investment. My colleague, Earl Blumenauer from Oregon, corrected 
me after his speech. I said, you know, America is falling to a third-
world status in terms of its investments in transportation 
infrastructure. He said, no, actually that was pretty insulting to a 
lot of third-world countries who are investing more than we are. So I 
have begun to call us ``fourth world.'' That is a formerly first-world 
infrastructure falling even behind many countries in the third world in 
terms of investment.
  150,000 bridges in America are either functionally obsolete or 
structurally deficient. I think we should post every one of those 
bridges with a sign so people know every time they drive over it.

[[Page H6835]]

This is not the time to begin to talk about doing less work to maintain 
our bridges and deal with the structural deficiencies and the 
functional obsolescence. This is not the time to begin to pull back on 
meeting our commitments to surface transportation infrastructure.
  I'm so pleased that the Ways and Means Committee has chosen to act 
and replace funds that were raised out of the gas tax, intended to be 
only spent on transportation infrastructure, but transferred to the 
general fund and spent on who knows what. This will put us back in 
compliance with the law and the principles of the United States of 
America.
  As we raise money dedicated to transportation, to be spent on 
transportation, there is a lot of investment that can be done. This is 
a needed bill. Pass this bill today.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Flake).
  Mr. FLAKE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  This Congress, more than anything else, I think is being defined as 
the ``bailout Congress.'' We're going to be bailing out the housing 
industry to the tune of billions and billions and billions of dollars 
later today. And before we get to that, we're going to be bailing out 
the highway trust fund to the tune of $8 billion.
  Let me just remind Members that the TEA-LU, the last highway 
authorization bill, the bill with the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in it, 
contains 6,300 earmarks. Many of these earmarks were for museums, 
bypasses, trollies, parking facilities, landscaping, recreational 
facilities, highway beautification, street scaping, hiking trails and 
visitor centers. Billions and billions of dollars went to these items. 
And yet we are going to be taking $8 billion from the highway trust 
fund. If you start doing that, Katy bar the door on projects like these 
that have run rampant already and will continue to.
  Now we have billions of dollars that have been unobligated, that have 
not yet been obligated. We should take that funding from those 
earmarks, from many of those 6,300 earmarks that have not been 
obligated, and apply it to this funding shortfall instead of robbing 
the general fund. Once we start robbing the general fund for these 
projects, Katy bar the door. We simply won't stop. This is a bad thing 
to do. We shouldn't reauthorize this.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 4 minutes 
to the gentleman from Oregon, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, 
Mr. Blumenauer.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting 
me to speak on this critical legislation.
  I rise in strong opposition to my friend from Arizona's assessment 
and in strong support for this legislation adjustment. The United 
States does have more and better infrastructure than any country in the 
world. The problem is that much of that infrastructure is fraying. It 
is being worn out. And it's not equal to the challenges that we have 
today for our own communities, much less to the international 
competition that we're facing around the world. We are facing a 
situation today with a highway trust fund that is going into deficit 
and it's going to be more serious over time.
  It would be the height of irresponsibility for this Congress to fail 
to keep pace with the needs of those programs. As my friend, Mr. 
Oberstar, who knows more about this than anybody in Congress, provided 
the context for the trust fund, and he could go on at great length 
about how the general fund, for years, was robbing the highway trust 
fund, using that to prop up and to disguise the nature of our true 
deficit.
  The fact is that uncertainty today with significant projects around 
the country in virtually every one of our States is going to have 
significant consequences in those communities if they're not cleared 
and move ahead. Many of these have complex funding projects. I was in 
southern Ohio and Kentucky this weekend where they're looking at a 
multi-State, multiyear project. If we have a cloud over our ability to 
keep these commitments, it slows and it confuses. It is going to cost 
jobs. It is going to cost economic activity. I think you can make an 
argument that it actually will end up costing the general fund money 
over time because of the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be in 
limbo.
  I hope to continue to work with the Ways and Means Committee and the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to have a sustainable path 
to meet our transportation objectives in the future. Indeed, I hope to 
introduce legislation this summer for a water trust fund to be able to 
help some of those other responsibilities.
  It is important for us not to back away from our commitment to State 
and local partners. Time does not permit to talk about the potential 
byplay where ultimately it's not going to make any difference in terms 
of the deficit. It's just going to unravel projects and create problems 
down the line.
  Last but not least, the notion that somehow those Member-requested 
projects, God forbid, for street cars, for hiking paths, for bike 
trails that are among the most requested, the most popular, the most 
important, and I would daresay in a time of $4.50 a gallon gasoline and 
morbidly obese fourth graders, having bike and pedestrian activities 
not only saves energy, it's good for health. It's good for the economy 
of this country.
  I would strongly urge that each and every Member support this 
important legislation. And, more important, that they commit themselves 
to work with the Ways and Means Committee and the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee to deal with the long-term financial and the 
long-term vision of how we're going to renew and rebuild America at a 
time of energy shortage, at a time of water stress and at a time of 
economic uncertainty. This is a way to make this system work better. I 
strongly urge its support.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).
  Mr. SHAYS. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member, for yielding to me.
  I have deep respect for people on both sides of this issue but no one 
knows this issue better than Mr. Blumenauer in my judgment. We need to 
rebuild and renew America. We have a huge problem with our water 
infrastructure, our energy infrastructure and our transportation 
infrastructure.
  I was part of balancing the federal budget in 1997. I was on the 
Budget Committee for 10 years. And it is a fact. We took $29 billion to 
help balance the budget. It came from the Highway Trust Fund. We need 
to be putting that money back. Certainly, $8 billion should go back.
  These are American jobs creating a long-term investment. We don't 
have a capital budget in this country. And so we don't start to think 
in the ways we need to about investing. Roads and bridges are 
investments. The Mianus bridge in Connecticut collapsed down and three 
people died. It was a huge disaster on I-95. We need to not only 
continue to maintain our highways, roads and bridges, but we need to 
upgrade them as well. And, in fact, just to maintain what we have, we 
need to rebuild. We need this money. It must go back into the trust 
fund.
  And I would just say for those who talk about a stimulus package, 
there is no better stimulus package than putting American construction 
workers back to work, rebuilding our infrastructure.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes 
to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Mrs. Boyda).
  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
  Madam Speaker, the American people are so frustrated right now with 
Congress. And this is one of the things. People ask me does anything 
surprise me. And I say no, it's about as crazy as I thought it would be 
on a given day. But a couple of weeks ago, I have to tell you that I 
was just shocked. This very bill that we're talking about today was 
brought in the FAA bill. The Parliamentarian said, it's germane. And we 
said we have a shortfall between now and 2009. Sure we have long-term 
problems, but we have this shortfall right now that has to be 
addressed. We got left with this train wreck, and we're trying to clean 
it up.
  And when the good people in Kansas, and this certainly made the news, 
learned that because that got taken out of the FAA bill, quite honestly 
along partisan lines, it not only affected what people thought about 
our

[[Page H6836]]

ability to govern, but they wonder what on earth Congress was doing to 
not take care of this. And they understood ultimately that this was all 
about politics.
  Today, we have brought this back together. Mr. Moran, my colleague 
from Kansas, and I have worked together and said, we're going to try to 
bring America together to do this very, very commonsense fix. Everybody 
knows we're using less and less gas. Hallelujah. And there's less money 
going into the trust fund. Everybody knows that the price of 
construction is skyrocketing and we have to do this. Let's get on with 
it. It's going to affect $120 million of funds right there in Kansas.
  But I will tell you what else it does. It affects people's ability to 
think, can Congress come together and work? I believe that we can.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I yield the gentlelady 1 additional minute.
  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. We have to do two things. We have to fix this. 
But today we have an opportunity to show the American people that we 
will put partisan politics aside and we are going to do the right thing 
for the American people.
  I think we have got a twofer today. I strongly suggest and urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill and do the 
people's work.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
ranking member of the Budget Committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Ryan).
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, if this were about politics, 
then the easy thing to do would be just to vote for it. That's the 
political thing to do.
  I rise in opposition to this bill because it would increase the 
deficit, because it's coming to the floor with less than a day's notice 
and no opportunity for amendment.
  Madam Speaker, I support the highway program. But that is not what 
this debate is about. I understand how critical highway funding is for 
our Nation's roads and our bridges. We had a really rough winter in 
Wisconsin. We need to get back to work to fix those roads. It's also 
not a debate about whether the highway trust fund shortfall should be 
fixed. It should be fixed. It's about how we should pay for it, or if 
we pay for it.
  I support fixing it in a responsible way, which I don't believe this 
bill does. Because of my concerns, I introduced legislation earlier 
this year that would have fixed this program, this deficit, in a 
fiscally responsible way.
  In 1998, Congress passed a law called TEA-21 that gave the highway 
trust fund special protections in the budget process. This is what Bud 
Shuster, the chairman of the committee at the time, said about the 
bill: ``This is an historic piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker, because 
now the American people will know that the trust is being put back in 
the highway trust fund. When the average American drives up to the gas 
pump and pays his 18.3 cents Federal tax, that money is free to be 
spent. It is a guarantee. It is an ironclad guarantee. Should there be 
more revenue going into the trust fund, that money will be available to 
be spent. Should there be less revenue going into the trust fund, then 
we will have to reduce the expenditures. It is fair, it is equitable 
and it is keeping faith with the American people.''
  Madam Speaker, this bill moves from funding highways with gas taxes 
to relying on borrowed money. If the highway trust fund is going to get 
access to the general fund, as it is in this bill, then it should 
compete for these resources with all other discretionary programs.

                              {time}  1115

  It should be budgeted for, but that is not what is happening here. My 
fear is that this transfer will be just the start, that we will be back 
here for a fix in 2010 with a bigger shortfall because as CBO says, the 
highway trust fund has not just hit a temporary rough patch, it is 
permanent red ink going into the future. The current shortfall is 
between $1.4 billion and $3.3 billion, and then it gets bigger year 
after year, well over a $300 billion shortfall over the next 10 years. 
Undoubtedly, when we get updated numbers from CBO and OMB, the 
shortfall will get even bigger.
  If highways are to continue to enjoy special budgetary status as 
trust-funded programs, then this general fund transfer should be offset 
or repaid.
  I want to work with supporters of this bill to find a way that avoids 
an increase in the deficit that this bill would cause. If Congress 
decides not to offset this transfer, then Congress should revisit the 
budgetary treatment for highways and reform it such that highways 
compete for funding in the annual budget process just as all other 
government programs do.
  I urge my colleagues to think about this. Let's come up with a 
funding mechanism that guarantees we fix this shortfall, and let's do 
it in a fiscally responsible way where we actually honor the integrity 
of the budget process.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to yield 1\1/2\ minutes 
to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).
  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6532, a bill 
that will restore funding to the highway trust fund and ensure that the 
flow of Federal highway funds is not interrupted at the height of the 
construction season.
  According to the American Association of State Highway and 
Transportation officials, if this problem is not fixed, States could 
lose up to $14 billion in highway funding resulting in approximately 
380,000 jobs lost.
  At a time when our economy continues to struggle, we simply cannot 
afford to cut Federal funding for highway projects. Earlier this year 
when we were debating the economic stimulus package, some said we were 
simply borrowing money from the Chinese to purchase Chinese products. 
This bill ensures that we are investing in our own transportation 
infrastructure, giving income to American workers and improving America 
in the process.
  It is also important to note that we are restoring funds to the 
highway trust fund that were transferred out of the fund 10 years ago. 
In other words, this is money that was supposed to be in the highway 
trust fund in the first place. We are not robbing the general fund, we 
are simply restoring money that was never supposed to be in the general 
fund.
  In 1998, Congress determined that the balances of the highway trust 
fund were too high and transferred $8 billion out of the trust fund and 
into the general fund. This bill returns those gas tax revenues to the 
highway trust fund to ensure that it does not become insolvent.
  Madam Speaker, I always rank in the top 10 or 15 most fiscally 
conservative Members of Congress, but there are some things that we 
need to do, and a first class national system of transportation is 
vital to our national economy. I urge support for this bill.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Kirk).
  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, especially 
because it helps my constituents fight high gas prices.
  It also resolves a political problem in my State. Under Governor Rod 
Blagojevich, our State is about to lose $4.5 billion in Federal highway 
funds. After 3 years under this highway fund, Illinois has failed to 
match any major Federal money. Supporters of total gridlock in 
Springfield told the reporters ``Don't worry, the Federal fund is 
broke.'' But it is not broke. This bill fixes that problem, and it does 
so in a bipartisan way.
  Now our attention should focus on our totally incompetent State 
government that is locked in a Shakespearean war between the Democratic 
Governor and our Democratic State legislature.
  The highway fund is not broke, and this bill fixes the problem. What 
should now be fixed is our State government. At a 15 percent approval 
rating for the Governor, the only path is up, and the best way to do 
that is not to let $4.5 billion in Federal highway money for Illinois 
lapse.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

[[Page H6837]]

  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6532. I 
come from a State located in the middle of the country. Transportation 
to and from one's home to their work, transportation from the State of 
Kansas in moving manufactured and agricultural commodities to the rest 
of the world, we depend upon infrastructure. Our highways are important 
to us if we are going to continue to compete in a global economy.
  In the absence of this legislation, the State of Kansas would receive 
$120 million less, a shortfall which would mean that there is 90 less 
State and local projects at an estimated loss of 8,250 jobs.
  Kansas receives about $370 million from the Federal highway trust 
fund. That would be reduced to $247 million. This is an important piece 
of legislation that continues to drive the Kansas economy and makes us 
competitive in a global economy. It is time for us to fix the system 
now in this short-term manner, but it is also important for Congress to 
reach a conclusion on how we fund highway and other transportation 
needs into the future.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I continue to I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding, and I rise in very strong support of this legislation which 
will ensure that the Federal Government is simply able to meet the 
commitments that we have already made to both the States and the 
American people. Specifically, this bill will simply return the $8 
billion to the highway trust fund that was taken from it several years 
ago.
  And with rising construction costs and fuel receipts due to Americans 
driving less, the trust fund is projected to be unable to meet the 
funding that has been guaranteed to the Departments of Transportation 
all across our country. These agencies draw up their plans years in 
advance, and failure by the Federal Government to provide that funding 
at the very last minute I think is simply irresponsible.
  As important as it is to point out why we should pass this 
legislation, I think we must also be very cognizant of the consequences 
for failing to act.
  In my State of Michigan alone, failure to shore up the trust fund 
will mean a 34 percent cut in funding, money that the State of Michigan 
is already counting on. Michigan's Federal highway dollars will be cut 
actually by $245 million, and would result in a loss of 8,500 jobs, and 
that is in a State that has the highest unemployment in the Nation 
already at 8.5 percent.
  The impact of this nationally would rival, I think, the impact of the 
economic downturn that we are already experiencing. Failure to pass 
this bill would effectively negate any positive impact that came out of 
the economic stimulus package that this Congress has already passed.
  This vote, as well, Madam Speaker, comes at a unique time in history 
when you have other nations like China and India who understand how 
important it is for them to invest in their infrastructure. We in the 
United States cannot afford to be economically disadvantaged as well.
  So we have a choice before us. We can vote ``yes'' and make sure that 
we simply try to keep pace; or we can vote ``no'' and put people out of 
work, stop construction projects all across the country and put America 
at a further disadvantage in the global economy.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and vote 
``yes.''
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I would like to inquire of my 
friend and colleague, Mr. McCrery, does he have any more speakers.
  Mr. McCRERY. I am prepared to close, I would say to my good friend.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, I have already talked here this morning 
about what I believe would be a bad precedent for budget policy that 
this bill represents. But even more regrettable, Madam Speaker, is I 
think this bill today represents another missed opportunity, and that 
missed opportunity has helped bring us to this point today.
  The majority's absolute refusal to address record-high gasoline 
prices by increasing domestic energy production is something that has 
contributed to the reason we are here today.
  I have argued on this floor many times in the past, not just in the 
context of the gasoline tax and the highway trust fund, but many times, 
that the way to bring sanity to our energy policy, and yes, the way to 
bring gasoline prices down, is to adopt a balanced energy policy for 
our country.
  Think of a balanced energy price as a three-legged stool. The first 
leg, conservation; the second leg, alternative fuel development and 
production; and the third leg, just as important as the other two for 
the stool to stand, would be to increase the supply of traditional 
fossil fuels by allowing more drilling here in our own country and stop 
depending on drilling in other countries.
  Let's develop our own resources. That would be a balanced policy that 
I think would contribute to bringing the price of oil down which would 
bring the price of gasoline down which would get more people on the 
highways driving more and add revenues to the highway trust fund.
  But we have so far not been able to get that passed in this 
Democratically led Congress. The sooner we do that, the sooner we will 
have some relief of the strain on the highway trust fund. And we still 
have to address the long-term inadequacies of the financing structure 
for the highway system in this country. As I have said, I believe we 
ought to be doing that today. And I support that.
  But, Madam Speaker, today I believe we are merely putting a Band-Aid 
on the problem. We are contributing to deteriorating, bad budget 
policy. The precedent of this bill shifting moneys from the general 
fund to the highway trust fund is a very dangerous one. It is a 
slippery slope, and we ought not do it.
  I urge my colleagues to reject this bill today, give us another 
chance to go back to the drawing board and come up with a much better 
solution to this problem and give us a chance to adopt a meaningful, 
structured energy policy for this country that will bring gasoline 
prices down and get more people on our highways.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  This is a good bill. This is a necessary bill. In the face of record 
budgetary shortfalls and high construction costs, State and local 
governments are struggling to pay for critical highway projects. I 
fully support H.R. 6532. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle to vote ``yes'' for this bill.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
6532, a bill to transfer money to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). As a 
co-sponsor of this legislation, I know how extremely important it is to 
our State and local communities to make much-needed road and bridge 
improvements.
  In Illinois, if we do not fix the HTF before 2009, the State stands 
to lose over $370 million, delaying many construction projects and 
impacting over 13,000 construction and construction related jobs.
  H.R. 6532 allows $8 billion to be transferred from the General Fund 
to the HTF to shore up the HTF. This is the same amount that was 
transferred to the General Fund in 1998 when the HTF was running a 
surplus. Now that the HTF is facing a shortfall in 2009 and beyond, we 
must restore this $8 billion in highway user fee revenues. By doing so, 
we provide sufficient balances to allow for the full guaranteed funding 
for the highway program in the U.S. which is critically needed.
  Madam Speaker, we must ensure our State and local Governments get the 
money they are due in order to make infrastructure improvements. If it 
is a priority to build highway infrastructure in Iraq, it should be a 
priority here at home. Again, I strongly support H.R. 6532 and urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
support of H.R. 6532, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
to restore the Highway Trust Fund balance.
  Our Nation's highway trust fund serves as the lifeblood for funding 
our Nation's transportation infrastructure. Regrettably, the fund is 
facing an imminent shortfall due to decreased revenue into the fund. 
This shortfall comes at a most inopportune time as many states across 
the country are struggling to provide funding just for adequate highway 
maintenance--let alone new construction.

[[Page H6838]]

  The bill before us is important to my home State, as Texas has one of 
the most extensive surface transportation networks in the world. Texas 
has more than 10,000 miles of rail track; more than 300,000 miles of 
roadway and more than 50,000 bridges--more than any other state in the 
Nation. Our transportation network is bursting at the seams, and 
failure to enact this bill render a significant blow to transportation 
construction and maintenance jobs across my State. We simply cannot 
allow this to happen. In the absence of passage of H.R. 6532, the State 
of Texas stands to lose $859 million in funding and a projected loss of 
30,000 good-paying jobs.
  The state has identified a funding gap of $86 billion between 
available resources and what is needed to achieve an acceptable level 
of mobility by 2030. By the year 2030, TXDOT predicts the state's 
population is expected to increase by 64 percent. My State cannot 
afford a lapse in receiving its share of Federal highway funding made 
available by SAFETEA-LU.
  In the absence of bold and decisive action by this body in the next 
highway bill authorization, stagnant transportation policy and 
inadequate funding will cripple our country. It is past time for 
government at all levels to make investment in transportation 
infrastructure an urgent priority.
  Madam Speaker I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. POMEROY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6532, Highway 
Trust Fund Restoration as it provides the funding necessary to 
replenish the Highway Trust Fund and avoid significant cuts in federal 
highway funding to the States.
  Forecasts indicate a shortfall of several billion dollars to the 
Highway Trust Fund in fiscal year 2009 due to lower-than-expected gas 
tax revenue. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the 
estimated miles traveled on U.S. public roads has dropped 30 billion 
miles from November through April 2007-08 compared to the same period 
in 2006-07. This is the first year-to-year reduction since 1979. As 
Americans drive less and purchase less fuel, the Highway Trust Fund's 
shortfall will continue to worsen.
  As a result of this shortfall, States are facing funding cuts of 
approximately 34 percent or nearly $14 billion in highway funds. This 
would include cuts of $70,473,422 in my State of North Dakota, 
threatening approximately 2,452 jobs. If this shortfall is not 
addressed, countless bridge and tunnel projects, reconstruction of 
streets, traffic signals, lighting and safety initiatives will be 
postponed.
  I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 6532 which would address these 
impending cuts by crediting the Highway Trust Fund's Highway Account 
with the $8 billion taken away from the Highway Account's balance in 
1998, and therefore helping the Highway Trust Fund avoid insolvency.
  The Highway Trust Fund Restoration is a good bill that will provide 
States with the resources they need to continue to provide improvements 
to America's highways. It deserves all members' votes on the House 
floor.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 6532.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McCRERY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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