[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 144 (Thursday, September 11, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8039-H8043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HIGHWAY TRUST FUND RESTORATION ACT

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendment to 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 Senate amendment is as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       On page 3, line 2, strike ``September 30, 2008'' and insert 
     ``the date of the enactment of this Act''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, 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 such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this bill passed the House on July 23, 2008, with 
bipartisan support by a vote of 387 yeas to 37 nays. The Department of 
Transportation has asked that this legislation be effective 
immediately. The Senate amended the House-passed bill to change the 
effective date and respond to the administration's request.
  The trust fund is broke, out of money. Our State and local 
governments, drivers, construction workers and many others will suffer 
when highway projects are delayed. We took $8 billion out of the trust 
fund in 1998, and now is the time to put that $8 billion back.
  I urge all of my colleagues again to support this important bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 
6532.
  Today, just 7 weeks after the House first considered this bill 
transferring $8 billion from the general fund to the highway trust 
fund, here we are, back again. I was one of 37 Members to vote against 
the bill when it was previously considered in the House. The bill 
simply kicks the can down the road just a little bit more until the 
highway trust fund is again broke.
  Delay and bailout. Delay and bailout. This Congress is elected to run 
the country, yet we delay action, wring our hands, lament that there 
are few good options available to address the Nation's problems, then 
bail out programs gone broke. Our delay only makes the problem worse. 
Our delay only leaves us with fewer options once we are forced to act.
  The bill before us today puts another temporary patch on a highway 
system that needs funding. Even with this $8 billion infusion of cash, 
the trust fund is going to go broke again before the next Congress acts 
to address the underlying problem.
  When the House initially passed this bill on July 23, the balance of 
the trust fund stood at $4.2 billion. Now we learn from the Department 
of Transportation that in the span of just these few weeks, that 
balance has fallen all the way to $1.4 billion as of the beginning of 
this month. So today the administration has called upon the Congress to 
approve this $8 billion transfer and to make it effective immediately, 
rather than on September 30th, because the trust fund is likely to go 
broke sooner.
  The highway funding system is based on fuel taxes that are declining 
at a time when the price of fuel is rising. Fewer people are driving 
because the cost of gas is skyrocketing.
  The majority will not let us debate an energy bill. The majority 
Democrats will not let America work toward domestic oil and gas. 
Americans want, need and deserve a clear energy policy that uses 
American energy sources like oil and gas from offshore. Americans want, 
need and deserve an energy policy that develops new technologies and 
brings them to the market. Yet this Congress delays action and prevents 
debate.
  If the highway bills that this Congress has passed were not larded up 
with thousands of earmarks, then spending from the trust fund could be 
better regulated to match taxes with spending. A little bit of self-
control would solve this problem.
  Unfortunately, the bill that will pass the House today shows no self-
control. It is just another bailout.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a member of the Ways and 
Means Committee.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on an issue on which our 
Nation is united, an issue that has had an impact on millions of 
Americans, and that is the issue of restoring the highway trust fund.
  I stand today as a proud cosponsor of H.R. 6532, and I wish to thank 
my distinguished colleagues, Chairman Rangel, Chairman Oberstar, and 
Ranking Member Mica for bringing it to the floor for our consideration.
  H.R. 6532 put $8 billion into the highway account for the highway 
trust fund. It is critical to address the projected shortfall in the 
highway trust fund that would endanger nearly 380,000 jobs. The 
solvency of the trust fund is necessary to preserve highway investment 
and provide predictable, long-term Federal funding on which highway 
projects and State transportation budgets depend.

                              {time}  1500

  This funding enables States to continue to finance highway projects 
that improve safety, ensure mobility, accessibility, increase the 
movement of people and goods, and promote a sound economy. Our Federal-
State highway partnership is essential to the success of our Nation's 
surface transportation system, and those States must be assured the 
transportation funding pledged to them under Federal law, we hope, that 
will be available.
  Coming from the State of New Jersey, which has the highest per capita 
population in the Nation and is dealing with an aging infrastructure, I 
know that this projected shortfall would have been devastating not only 
for the transportation projects but especially for job creation at this 
difficult time. In New Jersey alone, we have seen the loss of over $305 
million in Federal highway funds, which would have been compounded by 
the loss of over 10,000 jobs. That is why it is so imperative that we 
come together in a bipartisan fashion, to ensure that this shortfall is 
addressed properly.
  I am glad to see that the Bush administration finally acknowledged 
the crisis with the highway trust fund, despite the President's earlier 
veto threat.
  Looking ahead, we know that families are using less gasoline, hybrid 
cars are increasing mileage rates, and car pooling is taking more cars 
off the roads.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from New Jersey 
has expired.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.
  Mr. PASCRELL. I thank the gentleman.
  Our Nation is facing a difficult economic environment. Commuters are 
flocking to increased bus and rail options due to fuel costs. We hope 
that those options are available. Just when we need more investment in 
highways and transit, the resources and the sources are dwindling.
  This administration has consistently ignored the tough issues, such 
as advancing a real plan for renewal and expansion of the highway trust 
fund. In

[[Page H8040]]

the immediate term, I urge all my colleagues on both sides to vote 
``yes'' on the Highway Trust Fund Restoration Act.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I recognize Mr. John Mica 
from Florida, the ranking member on the Transportation Committee, for 3 
minutes.
  Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership, 
and I also thank Mr. Johnson for his comments.
  When you don't have an energy policy and when you don't have a 
comprehensive plan to deal with the escalating costs of fuel, you 
create a crisis. We have created a crisis in the pocketbook and in the 
checkbook of most Americans. We have also created a crisis here in 
Congress and in the United States Department of Transportation, because 
the highway trust fund has gone bust. It is broke. There is no money in 
it. In fact, tomorrow they will be issuing, if we do not act, notices 
of termination of Federal participation.
  That has consequences. That means not a few jobs will be lost, but 
there will be 380,000 jobs potentially lost across the country. There 
will be projects across the United States that are put on hold. So 
there are consequences to our inaction of adopting a sound energy 
policy and resolving this issue. And we can solve the energy issue, but 
we do need a comprehensive approach to do that.
  People responded by driving less, so there is less money going into 
the fund. We have a more efficient fleet of cars on the roads, so we 
have less money coming also into the fund. And we have alternative 
fuels that are starting to be used, like plug-in electric and hybrids, 
that we don't collect the gas tax on. So the trust fund is broke.
  Now the House did act responsibly. I partnered with Mr. Oberstar, the 
Chair of our Transportation Committee, with Mr. Rangel, and Mr. 
McCrery. We did act, and this House passed on July 23 a fix for what is 
wrong. Mr. Johnson is right, this is a Band-Aid on a major problem that 
we have in funding transportation, and we are just kicking the can down 
further down. But we have got to sit down immediately as a Congress and 
resolve these funding issues in our highway trust fund, or we will be 
back here taking money out of our children's future and out of our 
general treasury to fund transportation. That is not the way to do it. 
It's not the right way to go.
  We must begin immediately, because the bill we are working under 
expires next September 30, and we have in place no mechanism to replace 
and replenish those funds. So this is a Band-Aid, it is a temporary 
fix. It is not the way I like to do business, but we need to get down 
to business, solve the energy problem, and have a long-term fix for the 
highway trust fund that is broken today.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute 
to the gentlewoman from Kansas, Congresswoman Boyda.
  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman.
  Well, we are here. We are back again. It was about 6 weeks ago that 
this body passed the very bill that we are talking about today, with 
the looming shortfall in the highway trust fund. With no Senate action 
until yesterday, the shortfall is now here and now, and we have to deal 
with it.
  Just last week, our Department of Transportation Secretary, Deb 
Miller, in Kansas, announced that KDOT would have to cut funds, cut 
programs and projects while the delay of the payment of funds was 
slated from the highway trust fund took shape.
  Madam Speaker, we can no longer wait to act. The American people are 
so frustrated right now with Congress, and this is just one more of 
those things. It is about as crazy as I thought it would be getting 
here in Congress and watching what Congress can't do, with the 
opportunity today to do a two-for: We can fix this fund. We can fix 
this shortfall in the highway trust fund, and we can show the American 
people that in fact we can come together; in a bipartisan manner, we 
can work together. With that, I strongly support this bill.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I recognize Mr. 
Flake from Arizona for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FLAKE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  We didn't have to be here today. We could have acted more responsibly 
in 2005, when we reauthorized the highway bill. At that time, I heard a 
number of people, appropriators and others, stand up and say: We are 
authorizing more than we will have money for. We knew it at the time. 
Anybody who really looked at this knew that we were authorizing more 
than the highway trust fund contained for projects.
  To make matters worse, and part of the reason we had far more than we 
could fund is we had over 6,300 earmarks in the highway bill. That is 
why this thing was so big. That accounted for about $24 billion of the 
highway bill.
  Now, some of those projects, I grant you, would have been funded 
anyway in the highway bill. There were projects that a Member wanted 
that would have been funded out of that State's formula anyway. But 
there are a lot of projects that would not.
  We all know about the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. That was part of 
this bill. But some of the lesser known things that are in this bill 
that have far too little to do with transportation, I would submit:
  $16 million for the Bremerton Pedestrian Transportation Center in 
Washington State; $3 million for a parking garage in suburban Chicago; 
$3.5 million for pedestrian walkways and streetscaping in the village 
of Western Springs, Illinois; $3.5 million to improve the Pennsylvania 
Executive Mansion exhibit; $1.5 for the American Tobacco Trail in North 
Carolina; $800,000 for a transportation and heritage museum in 
Tennessee; $4 million for bike trails and park space in California; $1 
million for the Please Touch Me Museum in Philadelphia; $1 million for 
the Blue Ridge Mountain Center in Virginia.
  These are earmarks that are funded in this bill, part of the reason 
we are having to steal money from the general fund and fund back the 
highway trust fund, because we just went hog wild back in 2005.
  Just a few examples of some others:
  $2.75 million for renovations to the National Packard Museum in Ohio; 
$2.4 for the National Infantry Museum. Might be a good museum; probably 
shouldn't be funded out of the highway trust fund.
  Yet, instead of going in and saying we are going to rescind these 
earmarks if they haven't been funded yet, some have, some haven't, we 
are saying we are going to take from the general fund. When you start 
doing that, you set a horrible precedent in this place, because we know 
the amount of logrolling that goes on in a highway bill. And if you 
don't have the natural ceiling that exists with the highway trust fund, 
where you say we can spend that much and no more; if you can say, well, 
when we run out, we will just go out and take from the general fund, 
then ``Katie bar the door,'' this place is going to be out of money 
sooner than you think. Because when you have this amount of money and 
you pass around the projects and you have so much buy-in, then very few 
will vote against that bill because their own projects are in it, and 
soon we are taking more and more money from the general fund.
  We cannot start that process with this bill, and that is what this 
bill is doing. That is what this amendment is doing today. We have got 
to act more fiscally responsible.
  Let me just go through a few more.
  $1.2 million for the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. Now, might be a 
good museum, probably shouldn't be funded with your highway dollars. 
$500,000 for the Railroad Museum in Georgia; $200,000 for the Brooklyn 
Children's Museum.
  If you are catching a theme here, there are a lot of museums funded 
in this bill, again, money that is coming out of the highway trust fund 
that we overburdened the highway trust fund with that we now have to 
get money from the general fund for.
  One of the previous speakers said that there is a national consensus 
or that the Nation is united on this topic that we need to take from 
the general fund. I would say, where the Nation is united is that we 
have got to stop this earmarking process. And if we get to it next 
week, hopefully we will, the appropriation bill for the Department of 
Defense, you will see more of it, because that bill contains 1,200 
earmarks. The bill that has been marked up in

[[Page H8041]]

the subcommittee of appropriations for defense, 1,200 earmarks.
  I took a look at it just to see. It is very difficult to see where 
the money is and where it is going, but one thing we could see is what 
we see in every bill that contains a lot of earmarks: A 
disproportionate number of the earmarks are going to those who chair 
committees, those in leadership positions, or those who are on the 
Appropriations Committee.
  In fact, 1,200 earmarks, as I mentioned. Of these 1,200, more than 
560 are associated with appropriators and members of leadership. That 
is a staggering 45 percent of the earmarks included in the committee 
print. That is not uncommon; that is what called the spoil system, and 
that is why it is unlikely that we will be able to stop this amendment 
today.
  Please, let's be fiscally responsible.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he needs to 
the gentleman from Minnesota (Congressman Oberstar), the Chair of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  We are very pleased to have the Senate action on the conference 
report. We can restore to the highway trust fund money that was 
siphoned off 10 years ago.
  The discussion of earmarks we have had a dozen times on the House 
Floor need not be repeated here; it is irrelevant to the issue at hand. 
We will deal with those matters next year in a subsequent 
authorization.
  But the reality of why this legislation is needed is rooted in the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century in 1998, when in this 
Chamber our then chairman, Bud Shuster, and I, as ranking member, 
negotiated with the Republican leadership of the House, the Speaker, 
the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the Budget 
Committee, the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, and with the 
Clinton administration, the President directly with their Office of 
Management and Budget, and Treasury, to put firewalls around the 
highway trust fund to assure that surpluses couldn't be built up as had 
been done every year since 1968 when it began under Lyndon Johnson, 
President of the United States, to hold money in reserve and make 
deficits of that and subsequent Presidencies look less than they 
actually were.
  Until 1998, we had a $29 billion surplus in the highway trust fund, 
taxes paid at the pump by drivers all across the United States but not 
getting the benefit from it because those monies were held back to make 
deficits look smaller. So our resolve was to create firewalls around 
the trust so that couldn't happen in the future.
  In order to reach that goal held by every private sector entity in 
the country, by State transportation authorities, and by Members on 
both sides of the aisle, we came to an agreement in which we had to 
yield that $29 billion surplus. $8 billion of it went for current 
account deficit reduction, and the other $21 billion went for long-term 
debt reduction. That happened on June 26, when President Clinton signed 
the TEA-21 act into law. I am sure everybody in this Chamber felt a 
great burden of debt lifted off their shoulders. But none of that money 
went for highway projects, for bridge projects, or for highway safety 
or transit needs of this country.

                              {time}  1515

  It went for long-term and short-term debt and deficit reduction. We 
knew then, and it was predicted by the Department of Transportation, by 
OMB, by the Congressional Budget Office that, in time, this would lead 
to a shortfall in the highway trust fund, and that shortfall will occur 
this fall, or with a little bit of luck, next spring.
  The fix is necessary today to repatriate to the highway trust fund 
those revenues that were taken from it for general revenue purpose use 
for short-term deficit reduction. That was the folly. That was the gun 
at the head of the bipartisan leadership of the committee and of the 
Congress, that we had to make that step, take that step of shifting 
funds out of the highway trust, in addition to which, we had to agree 
that the Treasury would not have to pay interest on revenues paid into 
the trust fund. That resulted in further reduction in revenues in the 
highway trust fund.
  So we are, today, repatriating funds back to the highway trust fund 
that were taken by force majeure of this governance from the trust fund 
to general revenue purposes, and bringing it back to keep faith with 
the drivers of this country. That's what's at stake here, and I want 
everybody to understand. I'm not stretching the truth. I'm just saying, 
these are the facts of budget life that we are dealing with. And 
Congress can keep faith with the traveling public by passing this 
conference report and restoring the trust to the highway trust fund.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Could I ask how much time is remaining on 
our side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 9 minutes 
remaining. The gentleman from Georgia has 10\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. At this time I would like to yield 3 
minutes to Mr. Hensarling from Texas, the chairman of the Republican 
Study Committee.
  Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentleman and my dear friend from Texas 
for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, the fiscal mismanagement of the Democrats continues. 
In just 19 months, our friends on the other side of the aisle have 
managed to double the Federal deficit. They have given us the single 
largest 1-year increase in the Federal debt, an extra $600 billion. 
They've given us the largest unfunded obligation ever of the Nation, 
$57.3 trillion, that's trillion with a T, Madam Speaker, roughly 
$400,000 of debt per American family under this Democrat leadership. 
They've given us the largest Federal budget ever. They've given us the 
largest tax increase ever. They've given a blank check to Fannie and 
Freddie drawn on the checking accounts of working men and women all 
over the Nation.
  And today, today, to the best of my knowledge, for the first time in 
America's history, they are raiding a bankrupt Treasury in order to 
give money to the highway trust fund.
  Now, Madam Speaker, how did we get here? I submit to you it's two 
reasons.
  Our friends on the other side of the aisle love earmarks, but, 
unfortunately, they don't love American made energy.
  In the last highway bill, as my friend, the gentleman from Arizona, 
pointed out, 6,300 different earmarks, $24 billion worth. We wouldn't 
be here, Madam Speaker, if it wasn't for this ``earmarkaholism.''
  Now, not all these earmarks are bad. But, Madam Speaker, something 
called the highway trust fund, why do we have Democrat earmarks for 
landscaping? Why do we have Democrat earmarks for hiking trails in 
Tennessee? Why do we have Democrat earmarks, a quarter million dollars 
for boardwalks?
  Madam Speaker, why did we end up with $600,000 for horse riding 
trails in the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia?
  Madam Speaker, why did the Democrats bring us earmarks, $8 million 
for a parking facility in Harlem? And the list goes on and on.
  Now, I'll admit, Madam Speaker, there's been a number of earmarks on 
our side of the aisle. But this side of the aisle woke up. They 
understand the American people, and the American people want a 
moratorium, and it's Republicans that have called for a moratorium.
  But more importantly, right now, Madam Speaker, one of the reasons 
there's no money in the trust fund is people can't afford to drive 
because Democrats view our oil and gas reserves in our Nation as toxic 
waste sites, and Republicans view them as natural resources to relieve 
pain at the pump.
  And that's why, Madam Speaker, if we would simply enact the American 
Energy Act, the All-of-the-Above Act, Americans could drive again and 
we could fill up these coffers, and we wouldn't be here today.
  And, finally, to be here today without any offsets is an absolute 
tragedy for this Nation. And this bill should be rejected.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Oregon, Congressman Blumenauer, a member of the Ways and 
Means Committee.

[[Page H8042]]

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy, and I 
appreciate this coming forward.
  It's somewhat ironic to listen to our friends on the other side of 
the aisle dust off the old canard about earmarks. It's a bit awkward 
for them, as we're finding out that Governor Palin was not just for 
them but aggressively lobbying for them before she was against them. 
And all the earmarks the gentleman talks about were under the 
Republican watch. They controlled the last transportation bill.
  But I am pleased that the administration has had a change of heart. 
It's withdrawing its veto threat to ensure the fulfillment of the 
highway trust fund.
  This is serious business, and I hope it would be one of the areas 
where we Republicans and Democrats could come together. Making sure 
that we don't lose the over $14 billion of highway, bridge and other 
transportation funding and hundreds of thousands of construction, 
engineering and design jobs that are at risk right now is absolutely 
essential.
  I'm pleased that Congress is taking this step to make sure that we do 
not move in the wrong direction because communities, large and small, 
urban and rural, are suffering from failing infrastructure. I spent 
last week with my friend, Mike Simpson, in Idaho, dealing with those 
issues in his State, and it's nothing partisan or ideological about it. 
It's time for us to come forward and make this initiative.
  It's so bad that the American Society of Civil Engineers has given 
our Nation's infrastructure overall a grade of D minus. Today the 
Federal Government is investing less than we have as a percent of our 
Gross Domestic Product than we have for 50 years. And we're falling 
behind our competitors around the world.
  I'm hopeful that we can move forward today with this as a first step 
towards a comprehensive approach to deal with rebuilding and renewing 
America dealing with its energy needs, its water, transportation and 
infrastructure, so that we can make sure that all our communities are 
livable and our families safer, healthier and more economically secure.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to 
recognize Mr. Don Young from Alaska for 4 minutes.
  (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, first, let me say I'm very 
supportive of this legislation. And I understand the fiscal 
responsibility. I understand that those that say we're taking $8 
billion and we're not having an offset. Remember we, this body, 
borrowed the money. And I want to compliment Mr. Oberstar on the 
history of what occurred in 1998 and where we are today. So we're 
really paying back what we borrowed. And that's part of the principle 
about, I call it an obligation, a man's word, or a woman's word, to 
someone else.
  We borrowed that money from the taxpayers that paid at the pump, and 
very frankly, we spent it for other purposes, be it put the debt down, 
et cetera, that's not why we paid that 18.2 cents per gallon. We paid 
it for an infrastructure system.
  Having said that, we have another problem. Our infrastructure is 
falling apart. When I was chairman of the Transportation Committee, I 
asked for a five-cent increased tax on gasoline. And very frankly, my 
side of the aisle and my President said, no, and we're further behind 
today than we were when I first suggested that. We ended up with $286 
billion instead of $216 billion, but not nearly enough.
  There's no one in this Nation today that can tell me that our 
transportation is keeping up. It is falling further behind each day, 
each day; and when we do that, we add to the debt of this Nation 
because our economy is based upon the ability to move product and 
people. If we can't do that, we have no economy.
  The thing that hurts me the most, my good friends, in this energy 
crisis we have today and the high cost of energy, we're spending more 
money and more gallons of fuel sitting still than moving because we 
have congestion. That is not the economy this country needs.
  I will say this to my new chairman, Mr. Oberstar. He has a huge 
responsibility, and I hope this Congress will listen. And whoever the 
next President is, we must address this issue of raising the dollars to 
improve the transportation system within this Nation.
  Mr. Blumenauer said to the effect that no one's talking about 
transportation in this Presidential election. And I'm not being 
partisan here. Neither party's talking about transportation. If we do 
not do that, with the increase of the population we cannot have an 
economic base.
  Lastly, let me suggest one thing. One of the reasons the money is not 
there and why we should pass this bill today is because we are spending 
less on gasoline because of the high price. And for those who do not 
want to drill, those who do not want to reduce domestic prices, think 
of what you're doing to the transportation system in this country. My 
chairman is going to have to come up with a way of funding. Maybe it's 
other than the gas tax. I don't know.
  But we do have the automobiles. I don't care whether they're hybrids. 
I don't care what they are in saving fuels. We do have a transportation 
necessity in this country, and this body has not had the courage to go 
forth and have the vision of improving the transportation of the Nation 
for the future generations. We must do that.
  This bill is a short step. It's needed. It's important, and it is 
returning what we borrowed; we, being the body of Congress, from the 
taxpayers at the pump. I have come from the old school that if you 
borrow it you pay it back, and that's what we're doing today to keep 
the largest driving force in this country going, the construction of 
our infrastructure, the improvement upon and then the repair. If we 
don't do that today, I'm sure we will, we'll make a great mistake.
  But let's go to the future, the next highway bill. And those that are 
talking about we shouldn't spend it here, we shouldn't spend it there, 
there's no better way to spend the dollars of the American taxpayer 
than in an infrastructure for the future generations. It creates 
employment today, it creates employment in the future, and it takes and 
makes our economy strong forever.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I reserve the balance of my time, Madam 
Speaker.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to 
recognize Mr. Jerry Moran from Kansas for 1 minute.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I thank the gentleman from Texas. And I rise 
today in support of H.R. 6532.
  I come from a State in which transportation matters. Long distances 
between communities, agricultural and commodity goods to be hauled to 
market. And in the absence of this restoration of $8 billion to the 
highway trust fund, our State would lose nearly $118.5 million dollars, 
creating a critical shortfall and the inability to complete projects 
underway.
  So I'm pleased today to be back here in support of legislation that 
this body passed several weeks ago; pleased to see the Senate follow 
suit last night, and pleased to know that the President will sign this 
legislation upon its passage today.
  I commend my colleagues in Ways and Means, and appreciate my 
colleagues from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 
who have arisen to the occasion to make certain that transportation is 
supported and the jobs and industry that it pertains to, by this 
legislation.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this point I would like 
to recognize Mr. Scott Garrett from New Jersey for 1 minute.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman.
  I rise to oppose this legislation which is really unfair and unjust 
to the people of the State of New Jersey. I say so because it 
perpetuates an unfair system to our State, our State made up of 
commuters, because it does not change a system where in fact we do not 
get back a dollar on a dollar. Our commuters only get back pennies, 87 
cents on a dollar in the current system, and this perpetuates that 
system.
  See, New Jersey is a commuter State. Whether you work or play, you

[[Page H8043]]

have to rely on your car or truck to get around, and you're being 
attacked both from our State capital and in Washington, D.C.
  You're being attacked by our State capital by perpetual toll 
increases from High Point to Cape May, from Alpha to LBI, there are 
always threats of higher taxes there. And in D.C., we're under attack 
as well for the failure of this Congress and this Democrat leadership 
of passing an energy package.
  With gasoline at $3.50 a gallon and diesel at $4 a gallon, where it 
costs over $1,000 to fill up your truck to get to work or to get to 
school or elsewhere, New Jersey commuters are consistently being 
attacked by a system out of control in our State capital and our 
national capital as well, and that is why I stand here opposed to this 
legislation until we change the existing system of funding for tax 
administration.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, may I inquire of Mr. Johnson 
whether he has any more speakers?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Texas has 
expired. The gentleman from Georgia has 8 minutes remaining.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I fully support H.R. 6532, as 
amended. We must act and we must act responsibly and return $8 billion 
to the highway trust fund.
  I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote 
``yes'' for this important and needed bill.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
support of the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6532, a bill to amend the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore the Highway Trust Fund 
balance.
  As an original cosponsor of H.R. 6532 I am delighted our colleagues 
from the other body finally decided to act on this vital piece of 
legislation. Moreover, I was delighted to learn that the White House 
has now reversed its position on vetoing this important bill.
  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.
  I feel it is important that while many observers have attempted to 
frame discussions of the highway trust fund in terms of a ``bail out'' 
by the general fund, H.R. 6532 is not a bail out. The measure 
essentially restores $8 billion that was transferred out of the account 
in a 1998 budget reduction arrangement.
  Ensuring the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund 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 will 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 vote yes on this important 
piece of legislation.
  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 
concur in the Senate amendment to 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. LEWIS of Georgia. 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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