Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following comment after the Senate passed the federal highway bill 89 – 11. The legislation know goes to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the difference between the two bills.
Several committees have jurisdiction over parts of the federal highway program. The Senate Finance Committee, which Grassley chairs, is in charge of determining how the government raises the money to pay for the highway program.
In the funding formula that was developed in the Finance Committee, Grassley made sure that Iowa got its fair share. The Senate version of the highway bill has Iowa receiving a dramatic increase in federal dollars with at least an additional $518 million for highways and an additional $64 million for transit funding over the last highway bill.
Here is Grassley’s comment.
"We’ve been at this bill for several years now. To get this passed, we needed a highway bill that was an improvement over current policy. We needed adequate funding for transportation infrastructure. And, we needed to do our best to meet the job, economic development, and transportation needs of the country. Now, it’s time for the House and Senate to come to another agreement and end the gridlock on our nation’s highways."