Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Donald Norcross voted in support of H.R. 2353, providing a two-month extension to our nation’s Highway Trust Fund. Congress faced a May 31st deadline to reauthorize the measure before funding for thousands of transportation infrastructure projects would run dry. 

Earlier this week Congressman Norcross took to the House floor to urge Speaker Boehner and House Republicans to pass a long term funding measure that would protect jobs, provide certainty for employers relying on our transportation system, and allow states to move forward to rebuild our nation’s aging infrastructure. The bill that passed the House today only extends the trust fund through July 31st. 

“This is the sort of dysfunction that drives businesses and employers nuts about Washington,” said Congressman Norcross. “I supported this extension because we simply cannot afford to shut down transportation projects that are on the books, but there’s no reason why we cannot stop these gimmicks and pass a long-term extension to our Highway Trust Fund. We all say we want to help our economy grow, so let’s come together before the 11th hour and pass a transportation bill that gets us through the long term and provides some much-needed predictability to our economy.” 

Below is a summary of the Surface Transportation Program Extension:

•    H.R. 2353 Provides A Clean Reauthorization Through July 31, 2015.  The bill provides a clean extension of surface transportation programs authorized under MAP-21 through July 31, 2015.  This legislation is intended to extend all of the provisions of MAP-21 that would otherwise expire on or cease to apply after May 31, 2015.

•    H.R. 2353 Extends FY 2015 Funding Levels Through July.  The funding made available under H.R. 2353 extends current FY 2015 authorized levels ($53.3 billion), as authorized in MAP 21, for two additional months (June and July).  The bill provides a total of $8.5 billion for highway, public transit, and surface transportation programs, including:
o    $6.9 billion for federal-aid highway programs;
o    $1.4 billion for public transit programs;
o    $113.6 million for highway safety programs;
o    $95.6 million for motor carrier safety programs; and
o    $11.8 million for hazardous material safety programs.