A bipartisan group of four senators is applauding the chamber’s recent vote to repeal Section 1438 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
The section would have rescinded $7.6 billion in federal-aid Highway Program contract authority on July 1, 2020. Were this to occur, jobs would be lost, the economy would slow, and states would be harmed, the senators said.
The senators, along with 57 others, sponsored legislation to repeal the section.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) advanced the repeal earlier this year, and it passed the Senate as part of a budget continuing resolution. A repeal was also included in the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act.
“The Senate has taken important bipartisan action to help states get highway infrastructure projects done,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), EPW chairman, said. “If it had remained in place, the rescission would have hurt our economy and cost jobs. Now, states can safely plan to fix their roads and bridges. The Senate repealing this rescission was critical and I encourage President Trump to sign it into law.”
Barrasso was joined in his praise by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Tom Carper (D-DE).
The continuing resolution moves to President Donald Trump for his signature.