[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18938-18939]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HIGHWAY BILL

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, throughout my time as ranking member and 
now chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, finding money for surface 
transportation infrastructure has been a persistent and seemingly 
intractable problem. Even as we went into this year with a new 
Republican majority in the Senate, none of us could have imagined that 
we could find a way to provide 5 years of solvency and stability for 
the highway trust fund. Yet, with today's announcement of the completed 
conference report, that is precisely where we are right now.
  The conference report for the Fixing America's Surface Transportation 
Act will hopefully be enacted within a few days' time. As the very 
first member of the conference committee to sign the report, I want to 
briefly talk about the process by which the legislation came about and 
how we got to where we are now.
  Immediately before the Memorial Day recess, there was an unsuccessful 
attempt to put together a package to possibly get the highway trust 
fund through the rest of 2016. The agonizing difficulty we faced at 
that time in dragging ourselves through another 18 months gave us a 
desire to think bigger than we had before. This is why I was determined 
to help find a way out of the cycle of short-term infrastructure bills 
and why I believed it was necessary for us to think outside of the 
proverbial box and look everywhere for potential offsets.
  Generally, the Finance Committee is responsible for the financing 
title of any highway bill that goes through the Senate. Usually, we do 
our best to work within our committee's jurisdiction to identify 
offsets. However, because those resources have been quickly drying up, 
we had to look elsewhere for this package.
  After the committee spent weeks examining numerous options and 
alternatives, I was able to present our distinguished majority leader 
with a list of offsets that, while not necessarily ideal, would allow 
us to put together a long-term highway bill without raising taxes or 
increasing the deficit.
  I am very pleased with the work we were able to do there as that list 
of offsets formed the basis of the funding for the long-term deal we 
will likely be voting on in short order. As we continued on, by the end 
of July, the Senate had managed to pass a bipartisan infrastructure 
bill with 3 years of solvency, funding, and certainty for the highway 
trust fund. Though we were required to enact another short-term 
extension before the August recess, momentum had begun to build in both 
Chambers for a long-term highway bill.
  Common practice on highways over the past few years has been to enact 
short-term extensions and then go and complain about the dysfunction in 
Congress before moving on to the next order of business. The offset 
package produced by the Senate showed that we could do things 
differently and, for the first time in almost two decades, a long-term 
transportation bill was actually possible.
  After the August recess, the House began working off of the Senate 
bill as a template for their own legislation. After they passed a 
remarkably similar bill in November, the conference committee came 
together to produce the legislation announced today.
  While I am not one who likes to count chickens before they have been 
hatched--no pun intended--I am optimistic that the bill will pass with 
a

[[Page 18939]]

strong bipartisan vote. Putting these offsets for this long-term bill 
together has truly been a group effort. As I mentioned, we searched far 
and wide for offsets that required a number of chairmen and committees 
to work together. I commend my colleagues for their efforts and their 
willingness to do so and their willingness to do what it took to make 
the endeavor successful.
  I especially want to thank Senator Thune and the commerce committee, 
who assisted these efforts by providing for the transfer of certain 
motor vehicle safety penalties to the highway trust fund. I also 
appreciate the work done by the House Financial Services Committee and 
Congressman Randy Neugebauer, chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial 
Institutions and Consumer Credit. He was able to identify a new and 
important offset for the infrastructure bill, a feat which few have 
been capable of. While, as is often the case around here, some are very 
quick to throw out criticisms of individual offsets and were less 
willing to offer suggestions for suitable alternatives, Congressman 
Neugebauer, in response to concerns about an item in the original 
offset package, came forward to produce a viable and scorable 
alternative that was able to garner bipartisan support and ultimately 
broaden the overall support for this long-term deal.
  Back in July, when the Senate first proposed a long-term bill, many 
said we couldn't do it without raising taxes. When we passed our first 
bill, these same people claimed that it stood no chance of passage in 
the House. Now, just a few months later, both Chambers are a few days 
away from considering the conference report built upon the foundation 
laid by that same Senate bill.
  This legislation provides a longer extension than the vaunted 
SAFETEA-LU extension, which many had long viewed as a model for a 
multiyear highway bill. In fact, you would need to go back at least to 
the late 1990s--actually, to the early 1990s--to find a highway 
reauthorization of comparable duration.
  As I said, this major bicameral success was unthinkable a few months 
ago.
  While I do acknowledge that we still face the problem of outlays from 
the highway trust fund outpacing the dedicated revenues, this bill will 
give us a much needed 5-year break from the deadlines and cliffs that 
all too often dictate how we deal with the highway trust fund. It is, 
quite simply, a great example of what we can do when we work together.
  I would like to briefly note that these types of victories for good 
government have been piling up all year under the current Senate 
majority.
  We do need to start thinking now about more permanent solutions on 
highways, but once we pass this bill, we will be in a better position 
than at any time in nearly two decades to do so. That, as they say, is 
nothing to sneeze at.
  Before I conclude, I wish to pay tribute to Chairman Inhofe, Chairman 
Shuster, and Barbara Boxer and her Democratic counterpart in the House, 
who led a conference committee that was able to sift through various 
issues and put together a very complex piece of legislation in a matter 
of just a few weeks. These two chairmen deserve a lot of credit for 
their efforts, as do all the Members who took part in the conference.
  Today Congress is making headway to implementing the longest highway 
reauthorization bill in more than 15 years. We have heard time and 
again that a long-term highway bill would only be possible if we 
included a big tax increase. Yet we have been able to defy the odds and 
provide much needed funding for America's bridges, highways, and roads 
for the next 5 years. This marks a watershed moment for our 
transportation community, which will now have the security and 
stability they need to plan, implement, and complete critical 
infrastructure projects.
  Of course, while we have crossed a major hurdle today, our job is not 
yet over. There is still one more vote to go, and I am confident we 
will get there.
  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle to complete our work and ensure that a strong multiyear 
highway bill is signed into law this year. I look forward to working 
with all of my colleagues for whatever challenges lie ahead.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gardner). The Senator from Oklahoma.

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