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AASHTO director commends Senate for passing bill

John Horsley, AASHTO executive director
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Executive Director John Horsley Wednesday issued a statement upon the passage by the Senate of S. 1813.

"Members of the U.S. Senate are to be commended today, for their strong, bipartisan, passage of S. 1813 – a multi-year, $109 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill that sustains highway and transit funding at current levels. This important accomplishment could not have been achieved without the leadership of Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-California) and James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chairman and ranking member, respectively; and Sens. Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the Senate Finance Committee chairman and ranking member, respectively.

"Their bipartisan approach helped set a path forward for this bill that not only provides a greater degree of funding certainty for states, it also establishes reforms that will streamline project delivery, consolidate programs, and improve performance reporting and accountability."

"Meanwhile the clock is ticking down on the eighth short-term extension of previous authorization legislation, which must be continued past its March 31 deadline. Another short-term extension will give Congress time to reach agreement on a final bill that everyone agrees is important to America."