WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate, with the support of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), this evening passed legislation that would replenish the Highway Trust Fund. Prior to the vote, Senator King spoke on the Senate floor in favor of a bipartisan amendment authored by Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Tom Carper (D-Del.) that would responsibly pay for the extension and force Congress to stop shirking its responsibility to pass a long-term transportation bill this year. The amendment was approved by a vote of 66-31.

“There are a lot of problems that we deal with here that are hard and complicated…This one is simple: pay your bills. It couldn’t be more straightforward,” Senator King said. “If you want to drive on the highways, have potholes filled, we’ve got to pay for it…And there’s always reasons not to do it. This is the 11^th time we’ve punted on this issue. This is what the American public is sick and tired of. They’re sick and tired of us not doing our basic job, and there couldn’t be a more basic job than fixing and paying for and maintaining your infrastructure. Let’s get to it this year in November or December, and let’s solve it. It’s not going to be any easier to solve in May. I would argue that it would probably be harder. But I think it’s time for us to start talking straight to the American people and say we’ve got to pay our bills.”

Specifically, the Carper-Corker-Boxer amendment that Senator King supported would:

• Extend federal transportation program authorizations through December 19, 2014 to ensure that Congress remains focused on the critical and urgent task of passing a fully-funded long-term solution to the Highway Trust Fund crisis before the end of the year;
• Provide sufficient funding to the Department of Transportation to reimburse states for highway and transit projects through December 2014;
• Strike the pension smoothing provisions that generate revenue in the 10-year window that would likely cost taxpayers money in the long run, and;
• Include revenue provisions from the Preserving America’s Transit and Highways (PATH) Act reported out of the Senate Finance Committee that contain bipartisan tax compliance measures, while omitting the pension smoothing gimmick.

Earlier this month, Senator King spoke on the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to support an extension of the Highway Trust Fund. He also called on his colleagues to address the serious challenges that confront the country, like record debt and deficits as well as crumbling infrastructure.

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