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 Peoria Congressman Aaron Schock says the House and Senate need to approve a highway bill. The 18th District Representative was joined by ranking Republican member of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee John Mica of Florida. The two say Congress could pass a five or six-year highway bill after the November election. Mica wants the legislation to include language that allows construction projects to move forward faster. Schock says that would allow federal money to be spent more efficiently.
SCHOCK: In other words, how do you speed up phase one, phase two? How do you get through all of the environmental impact and all of the necessary studies that are required so that when your member of Congress goes to DC and says we need resources for infrastructure, the first ten or twenty million dollars of the project aren't just spent on consultants but rather are spent actually on the pavement and putting people to work and having something to show for it?
Schock says highway projects being considered for funding in the 18th district include the Eastern Bypass and the Illinois Route 336 projects. There’s about 300 billion dollars available in the highway trust fund. Another one or two-hundred billion is thought to be needed to handle projects in the five to six year plan. Congress needs to come up with another revenue source to fund the bill. The Obama administration has said increasing the gas tax is no longer an option.
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