WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, released the following statement after voting to extend authorization of surface transportation programs through the end of July. The current authorization for those programs is set to expire at the end of this month.

Last Congress, Murphy unveiled the first bipartisan proposal to shore up the Highway Trust Fund, which funds improvements to roads, bridges and transit systems, by restoring the purchasing power of the federal motor fuel tax. The proposal would create a long-term, stable funding mechanism for the Highway Trust Fund and enact tax relief for American families and businesses.

“As anyone who has ever been stuck on I-95 can tell you, America’s roads and bridges are pathetically underfunded and in need of serious work. That's why it's beyond comprehension why the Republican Senate made absolutely no effort to draft or pass a long-term transportation funding bill, and left us with no option except for a two month extension of the fund. I voted for today's bill because it would be foolish to shut down the fund at the beginning of construction season, and I'm willing to give Republicans a little more time to come up with a long-term bill. But I will be urging my Senate colleagues to draw a line in the sand in July and demand that we stop these short-term patches once and for all, and commit to passing a long-term transportation bill that gives adequate funding and long-term certainty to states. Funding road construction a few months at a time is the height of stupidity, and this practice has to end."