[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  EXPIRATION OF THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND

  (Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, we are 16 days away from the latest 
expiration of the highway trust fund. This is nothing new. Over the 
last 6 years, Congress has passed 33 stop-gap funding bills to extend 
transportation funding. Today we will vote on the 34th.
  Congress has repeatedly failed to provide the long-term investments 
in transportation that we so badly need. Without serious long-term 
investments, we simply will not be able to compete in today's global 
economy. Europe now invests twice as much as we do in transportation. 
China invests four times as much.
  Our crumbling infrastructure, rated a D-minus by the American Society 
of Engineers, is slowing our economic growth. State and local 
governments are being forced to cut back on their construction 
projects. Private sector companies are being forced to stop hiring 
workers and investing in capital.
  It is time to provide American businesses and American workers with 
transportation funding certainty. It is past time to pass a long-term 
transportation bill that will grow our economy and create jobs.

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