A bipartisan group of U.S. senators unveiled a proposal on Monday to authorize $287 billion in federal government spending over five years to maintain and repair the country’s aging highways, bridges and tunnels, but Congress still faces the tough task of finding a way to pay for it, according to Reuters.
The bill, introduced Sen. John Barrasso, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the top Democrat Sen. Tom Carper, along with Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Ben Cardin is set to be voted on Tuesday at a committee hearing.
It would boost spending by 27 percent over the prior highway bill, but lawmakers must find about $85 billion in additional revenue to pay for those repairs through 2025, officials said. The current spending bill expires in September 2020.
Of the total, $259 billion – or over 90% – would be distributed to states by formula. It would also authorize $6.6 billion for a competitive grant program to address the backlog of bridges in poor condition nationwide among other funding efforts.
