House Speaker Paul Ryan, right, walks with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, following a news conference at the Republican National Headquarters. Ryan announced that the House will pass a short-term funding bill as talks on a $1.1 trillion spending bill continue.
Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Congress-Budget-Battle/72c82cf72d294e918b696474c08c65ba/1/0
Congress Acts “FAST”
The nation’s infrastructure, it’s highways and bridges and modes of transportation that connect us, seems to be one of the truly bi-partisan issue facing our lawmakers. Last week, President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act into law. The legislation was 1,300 pages and will cost $305 billion. Shortly after signing, President Obama made a statement saying the bill was, “not perfect,” but, “common sense, and an important step in the right direction.”
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, Florida; Credit: ©Eyecon Images / Alamy
The law will be enacted over the next ten years and provides the kind of long-term funding necessary for cities to plan large-scale highway projects. Here are some highlights:
While the passage of this legislation is being considered a great victory, it is not without its challenges. For example, some of the items included in the FAST Act do not include solutions on how to fund them. The $305 billion budget falls short of the projected $400 billion needed to solve all of the nation’s infrastructure issues. President Obama said that he would push for great spending to meet these needs.
Dig Deeper
Do some research and find some of the other line-items in the FAST Act.
Here is a copy of the whole thing, but you there are many other resources that contain partial lists. Write down five items not listed in the story above. Explain why they caught your interest.
David Martin
