Welcome back, Highway Trust Fund Ticker.
The DOT, pressing Congress for a long-term highway funding bill, has brought back its highway bill doomsday clock, an interactive chart that shows the cash flow of the country’s highway funding account and the projected date the HTF will go bankrupt.
That projected date, as of May 29, looks to be before the end of July, and the ticker could seen an update next week when the DOT closes its books for June. Barring Congressional action, the DOT will have to halt funding to state agencies when the Trust Fund hits zero, meaning highway projects already in the works around the country could stall and new projects further delayed.
Congress’ most recent highway funding action came in late May, when lawmakers passed — at the very end of the 10-month extension it granted itself last year — a 60-day extension of current highway funding levels, ensuring Highway Trust Fund solvency until the end of July.
But pressure continues to mount on Congress to produce a long-term bill, from both sides of the political aisle and from major private sector industries, like trucking and construction, that depend on highways and highway funding to do their jobs.
And Congress, per usual, is holding hearings, gathering testimony on why a long-term bill is needed and the funding mechanisms it could use to support a long-term bill. Both chambers in the last week have held hearings on funding or policy for a long-term bill.
Here are a few highway funding highlights from the recent week:
