WASHINGTON, D.C. - With overwhelming bipartisan support, the House of Representatives today passed H.R. 3357 by a vote of 363-68. The legislation, sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), would keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through the end of fiscal year 2009 by transferring $7 billion from the General Fund to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund to meet an expected shortfall.
“This bipartisan bill will provide the necessary funds to keep important transportation initiatives operating in states across the country and should keep the Highway Trust Fund fully funded through 2009," said Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA). “Our nation’s roads are the heart of our system of transportation. We have one of the best highway systems in the world. We need to do all we can to protect the resources set aside to strengthen and maintain that system."
H.R. 3357 would also provide essential loans to the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) to meet a projected shortfall by early August. The loans are repayable with interest and the CBO has scored the legislation as having no cost to the Federal treasury. Without this action, 4.6 million workers could face losing unemployment benefits during August and September because State unemployment programs would be unable to access loans from the UTF.
"Currently, the single biggest draw on the federal trust funds are loans to State unemployment programs," said Ways and Means Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA). “Eighteen States already have loan balances exceeding $12 billion, and more are expected to request assistance in the coming weeks and months. This legislation will allow the federal unemployment trust funds to receive interest-bearing loans from the general treasury. These loans will be repaid when the unemployment trust funds once again have adequate reserves.
