In a speech on the Senate floor today, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) urged support for the multi-year highway bill to fund our nation’s bridges, highways and roads for three years without raising taxes or adding to the deficit. The bipartisan solution reauthorizes America’s highway programs for six years.
“We’ve heard time and again that a long-term highway bill would only be possible if we included a big tax increase. With the upcoming final vote on this bill, the Senate is about to prove otherwise – and it will do so with bipartisan support,” Hatch said.“This is how the Senate should operate, particularly when we’re dealing with something as big and important as highway funding.”
Later today the Senate will vote on a short-term measure to extend the authorization of the nation’s highways and transit programs through October 29 to ensure uninterrupted service and allow the U.S. House of Representatives time to study the Senate’s bipartisan multi-year highway bill and take it up in the Fall after the August state work period.
“Like many of my colleagues, my hope is that, eventually, the House of Representatives will follow suit and work toward passage of a similar long-term highway bill so that we can come together, reconcile differences, and finish the job,” said Hatch. “While I know there are some divisions on the other side of the Capitol about the Senate’s overall strategy and maybe even some of the particulars in our bill, I think we’ve shown that a long-term bill is a realistic goal and a preferable option to yet another short-term highway patch.”
The complete speech, as prepared for delivery, is below:
Mr. President, soon we will vote on final passage of a bill that will provide a long-term solution to the shortfalls of the Highway Trust Fund. If enacted, this bill will provide the longest paid-for authorization of highway and transportation spending in nearly a decade.
This bill is the result of an incredible amount of work by a number of Senators, including our distinguished Majority Leader as well as the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. I want to commend them for setting aside partisan differences to find a solution, despite the cynicism and naysaying from some of our colleagues and others here in Washington.
I am also pleased to have been able to play a part in these efforts, working with Leader McConnell to identify suitable offsets to pay for the reauthorization of the highway and transit programs. While the Finance Committee, which I chair, has jurisdiction over the funding stream for the highway trust fund, we had to cull together offsets from other areas and other committees in order to pay for this multi-year highway bill. This required the cooperation of multiple chairman and committees, all working together toward a common goal.
One of the most remarkable things about this bill is that it provides three full years of highway funding without raising taxes or adding to the deficit. We’ve heard time and again that a long-term highway bill would only be possible if we included a big tax increase. With the upcoming final vote on this bill, the Senate is about to prove otherwise – and it will do so with bipartisan support.
This, Mr. President, is how the Senate should operate, particularly when we’re dealing with something as big and important as highway funding. As I said last week, this bill represents a victory for good government and is yet another bipartisan win for the Senate under the current leadership.
Like many of my colleagues, my hope is that, eventually, the House of Representatives will follow suit and work toward passage of a similar long-term highway bill so that we can come together, reconcile differences, and finish the job. While I know there are some divisions on the other side of the Capitol about the Senate’s overall strategy and maybe even some of the particulars in our bill, I think we’ve shown that a long-term bill is a realistic goal and a preferable option to yet another short-term highway patch.
Once again, I’m well aware of the desire of some in Congress – and in the administration – to marry long-term highway funding to some kind of tax reform. And, as the chairman of the Senate’s tax-writing committee and its most outspoken supporter of tax reform, I think that idea has a lot of merit.
Fortunately, this bill will provide just that opportunity while giving added certainty to our states as they plan their highway projects and to our builders and job creators looking to expand and hire more workers.
Put simply, the Senate’s highway approach is a win for everyone. The House should consider our approach, and I hope they will.
Long story short, Mr. President, today is a good day. Today, the Senate will accomplish something that few thought possible. While the process has been a bit more difficult and divisive than many of us would have liked, I, personally, am very pleased to see the Senate function properly and govern responsibly.
There are a lot of things that we can fight over here in Congress. But, I think we can – or at least should – all agree on the need to come together to pay for our nation’s infrastructure. I’m pleased to join with my colleagues – Senators from both parties – in taking a major step toward that goal today.
With that, I yield the floor.
