The Washington Post reports that state transportation officials are worried that another congressional stalemate could lead to a halt in construction projects nationwide, leaving thousands out of work and delays in highway and transit projects.
The Washington Post reports:
“Facing a Sept. 30 deadline, officials are mindful of the deadlock that occurred this month over extension of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. That cost an estimated $350 million in tax revenue and led to a partial agency shutdown that put 4,000 FAA employees and tens of thousands of construction workers out of work for two weeks.
Both the federal authority to collect the 18.4 cents a gallon in federal gas tax and authorization to spend the revenue on transit and highway projects are due to expire.
“When Congress comes back, they’re only going to have 11 days to take action,” said Susan Martinovich, president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. “There is a crisis brewing.”
With only 11 days to reach a resolution, looks like we might be heading for another shutdown. It’s possible that this shut down will be even more far reaching than the FAA shutdown earlier this month. State officials explained that without the reauthorization of funding, state officials could not put projects out to bid and would be forced to start shutting down projects underway. Since many highway and transit programs are reimbursed by federal funding, states will be taking an enormous risk to start new projects if funds were not guaranteed at the federal level.
Do you think we are heading towards another shutdown? What can the states do to keep our roads and bridges safe?
**********************************************************************************
Previous Daily Dose Post
- How Would You Promote Diversity and Inclusion at Work?
- “Supercommittee” Uncertainty Over Federal Benefits
- Does Your Workplace Stifle Innovation?
- Postal Service Running Up Against Debt Limit
- Congress Heads Home Without Extending FAA Funding
- Federal Workers Will Feel Likely Feel the Squeeze Under New Debt Deal
- FAA Furloughs Possibly First of Many
- 3,600 More Post Offices Under Review
- Protecting Employees from Retaliation
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.