July 31, 2014
“Today, I voted to pass this short-term fix because without the stable funding provided by the Highway Trust Fund, more than 200 ongoing federally funded highway projects would have been jeopardized in West Virginia alone. I would have preferred to vote on a long-standing federally funded transportation and highway package or the Senate’s version of this bill, which would have reauthorized the funding until December and would have allowed the opportunity to craft a long-term deal. However, we simply could not afford to postpone funding these projects; not a single state could take that risk. We needed to vote on approving this funding immediately.
“Reliable infrastructure is vital to the safety of West Virginians and Americans across the country and it is absolutely essential to the economic growth and prosperity of our businesses and our families. This legislation provides important investments that we need right now to repair and maintain critical infrastructure projects and preserves countless good-paying jobs across West Virginia and this country. I hope to immediately begin working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle toward a long-term extension of this vital funding.”
Manchin Statement on Vote to Save Federal Funding for Transportation and Highway Projects
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin today released the following statement after voting to pass the Highway and Transportation Funding Act, which will finance the Highway Trust Fund and continue federally funded infrastructure, transit and highway projects that are vital to our nation’s economic growth. The measure will provide $10.9 billion to reauthorize the programs until May 31, 2015.“Today, I voted to pass this short-term fix because without the stable funding provided by the Highway Trust Fund, more than 200 ongoing federally funded highway projects would have been jeopardized in West Virginia alone. I would have preferred to vote on a long-standing federally funded transportation and highway package or the Senate’s version of this bill, which would have reauthorized the funding until December and would have allowed the opportunity to craft a long-term deal. However, we simply could not afford to postpone funding these projects; not a single state could take that risk. We needed to vote on approving this funding immediately.
“Reliable infrastructure is vital to the safety of West Virginians and Americans across the country and it is absolutely essential to the economic growth and prosperity of our businesses and our families. This legislation provides important investments that we need right now to repair and maintain critical infrastructure projects and preserves countless good-paying jobs across West Virginia and this country. I hope to immediately begin working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle toward a long-term extension of this vital funding.”
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