House funds highways through August

[Bob Of Burleson]

House passes $11b fix for Highway Trust Fund

While funding transportation projects through August is the immediate concern,
the president said Congress shouldn't "pat itself on the back"
for "kicking the can down the road."

By Gabrielle Levy

WASHINGTON (UPI) --The House passed a critical funding bill Tuesday to maintain transportation funding through the rest of the fiscal year by a comfortable 367-55 vote margin.

The stop-gap measure, which would add $11 billion to the Highway Trust Fund, will keep the program from running out of money in August and support more than 100,000 transportation projects around the country.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., sponsored the bill, which pays for the funds by using a trick called pension smoothing, which lets companies postpone contributions to employees' pension funds in exchange for paying more interest later.

Ten Democrats opposed the bill, saying instead the House should opt for a longer-term solution, while 45 Republicans voted against it as a bailout.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/07/ ... z37dDwmT11