Highway Trust Fund

Congressman Pete Aguilar
Congressional Record: 114th Congress
July 15, 2015

(Mr. AGUILAR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, less than 2 months ago House Republicans refused to take the opportunity to extend the highway trust fund and, instead, decided to be reckless and kick the can down the road. Well, to no one's surprise, today we are back at it, faced with the same predicament.

How long will Republican leadership continuously refuse to govern? They have played the same political games with the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, which keeps our Nation safe from national security threats, and allowed the Export-Import Bank to expire, punishing American businessowners across the Nation. And now they want to gamble with the safety of millions of Americans who rely on our transportation and infrastructure, which is crumbling beneath us.

Enough is enough. We need a comprehensive and long-term surface transportation plan, not a short-term fix. The highway trust fund supports critical projects, which include improving the I-10 freeway in the Inland Empire, as well as countless other projects within the country.

It is time that we start governing and bring a long-term extension measured in years, not months. We don't need another short-term patch. It is time for real solutions.