[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H5403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HIGHWAY TRUST FUND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, we take in approximately $39 
billion a year for the highway trust fund to take care of 
transportation needs all over this country. We have spent $103 billion 
over the last several years rebuilding Afghanistan. Now they tell us 
projects all over this country will have to stop because of a $15 
billion shortfall in our highway trust fund.
  Today and tomorrow we will have before us a Defense bill that has a 
$79 billion placeholder for overseas contingency operations over and 
above the regular Defense budget. It has been this amount or much more 
over the last several years.
  This OCO account is primarily for Iraq and Afghanistan, where we are 
still spending megabillions. We should take at least some of this money 
to cover the shortfall in the highway trust fund to keep these projects 
and jobs going all over the U.S.
  We have spent far too much blood and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan 
over the last few years, and that needs to stop. Mr. Speaker, we need 
to stop spending all of these billions in Iraq and Afghanistan and 
start taking better care of our own people and our own country.

                          ____________________