The U.S. House of Representatives passed a multi-year transportation bill. Representative Kristi Noem says the measure gives certainty to state officials.
Congresswoman Kristi Noem says the six year authorization bill allows state transportation officials to complete projects that take many years to plan and implement. She says the hard part is agreeing on funding.
“The trust fund is reliant on a gas tax, but as vehicles get more efficient, as vehicles get smaller, we drive less, the revenue stream has dried up,” Noem says. “So the Senate has some pay-for’s in there that were debated. We amended some of those on the House floor as well. That will go to conference and that’s where they’ll be resolved.”
Noem says she’s optimistic that lawmakers will come out of conference committee with the revenue to fund three years of the bill.