their rights. in particular, as it relates to their own body and their family choices as well, to make sure they have the rights to take care of their own family. let me also say that i would wish and had hoped that the present underlying bill, the highway and transportation funding act, was truly a bill that committed to the american people that we believe in the investment of infrastructure and creating jobs. this is not what this bill is. this is a temporary fix, saying to the american cities and transit centers, transit facilities and buses and highways and freeways that you are only a side thought here in the united states congress, we'll give you a small amount of money, transferring $9.8 billion from the general fund and $1 billion from the leaking underground storage tank trust fund just to give you a temporary fix. we're going to put a finger in the dam. we're not going to have a concerted, concentrated, responsible assessment of america's transportation needs so that we can fund it. we're not going to ask houston

metro what moneys they need. we're not going to ask texas what moneys they need. we're not going to ask new york or california, and i would simply say we've got to get away from the i don't believe in government crowd and work with the people, understand that government has a role, the federal government has a role. it's a rescue facility. it's an s.o.s. it helps people in need. when the states are in need and it helps to build the infrastructure, the highway system that president eisenhower, republican, created, which we've been recognized for. here we are nickel and diming. so i hope we'll get down to the table, work with those of us who are concerned. finally, vote no on the previous question because it's not your boss's business if you want to have family planning. it's certainly not your boss's business. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado reserves. does the gentleman from florida continue to reserve? >> yes.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i'd like to yield to the gentlewoman from nevada two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from nevada is recognized. ms. titus: the hobby lobby decision gave employers a legal right to make personal health decisions for their employees. this devastating ruling opened the door to a wide range of discrimination and denial of basic health care services for women. now all closely held corporations, which represent 90% of american businesses, can legally impose their own religious beliefs on female employees. that's why i'm proud to be a co-sponsor of the not my boss' business act, which will undo this damage and prevent for-profit companies from using the religious beliefs of the owner as an excuse to discriminate against women and limit their individual health care rights and choices. 99% of american women will make the decision to use contraceptive at some point in

their lives. what rights do corporations have to deny them this choice? the hobby lobby decision is a significant step backwards for women's health and equality. so i urge my colleagues to vote no on the previous question so that we can bring up and consider this important legislation and move bosses out of the bedroom and back into the boardroom. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. does the gentleman from florida continue to reserve? mr. webster: reserve my timeout. mr. polis: i would like to inquire if the gentleman from florida has remaining speakers? mr. webster: no, madam speaker, we don't. mr. polis: i'm prepared to close. i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. seems s: this congress committed to kicking the can down the road, avoiding discussions of real solutions, failing to solicit ideas from

members of both sides of the aisle to move our country forward, and just stumbling along. i think we can do better as a nation and we need to do better with regard to our nation's infrastructure. yes, this bill funds the highway trust fund until next may, that's important. but what happens after may, 2015? what makes that month -- is that the magic month where we finally agree we need to take long-term action when we address our nation's crumbling roads and bridges? this congress manages from self-imposed crisis to self-imposed crisis. that's not with a way to run a country. we are reducing the certainty developers an contractors need for planning for future and increases costs for taxpayers for supporting our existing infrastructure. we are undercutting opportunities for public-private partnerships because the lack of stability even knowing when or if or in what form the highway

trust fund will be funded in the future. if we don't act to provide stability to the highway trust fund, we are not only putting our economy at risk, but the safety and well-being of all those who send us here as their representatives. it's not only competitiveness issue, it is a safety issue for the american people. madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: when we defeat the previous question, we can send our colleagues back to work with regard to infrastructure and a long-term solution, and address an issue that my constituents have been writing me about and that american women and men across the country have been crying out for. contraception was a tremendous leap forward or women and the american people. it empowers women to make the reproductive choices that make sense for them and their families. it reduces the number of

abortions. it helps ensure that children are planned and well raised. and yet the recent supreme court decision throws into jeopardy the availability of contraception as a basic part of comprehensive health care. by defeating the previous question, we can bring to the floor a simple bill that i strongly support that would remedy that and ensure that women have access to contraceptive choices as part of their basic health care, and prevent its returning to the precontraception era. madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no and defeat the previous question and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. webster: thank you, madam speaker. this rule provides for ample and open debate. it advances a bill that riginally passed the house 373-52, one of the most bipartisan votes we've had since i have been here.

the under lying bill extends good public policy. that policy was supported, like i said, by 373 members of the house, 74 in the senate, and signed by the president. while we must look forward to the passage of another multi-year transportation authorization, there is no reason we should not pass the extension. certainly -- certainty means the state of being free from doubt or reservation, confident, sure, extrending our transportation programs until next summer provides our states with certainty. it also ensures our highway trust fund does not become insolvent at the end of this month. this extension will keep our transportation construction workers on the job. it will keep our transit systems functioning at full capacity. it will continue our investments in our economy. it will do all these things without raising taxes on the american people. but most importantly it advances

the process of a multi-year transportation bill. i look forward to working with chairman shuster and other members of the committee on transportation and infrastructure as we focus on producing a long-term bill that strengthens our transportation programs. the passage of this extension gives us the opportunity to work together and produce a solution that continues to deliver an unmatched transportation system for american people. it is our responsibility to make sure that that happens. this bill is the last chance to fulfill our responsibility to the american people and to provide our states with certainty before the highway trust fund reaches insolvency. i urge all members of this house to vote for the rule, vote for the bill, keep our transportation systems operating, and let us work together for a long-term solution. i yield back the balance of my time. and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of the adoption of the resolution. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 228. the nays are 192. the motion is -- the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor will say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. polis: mr. chairman, on that i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the

u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 231. the nays of 186. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. members will clear the center aisle. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states.

the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: mr. secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to resolution 616, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 5016. will the gentleman from utah, mr. bishop, kindly take the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 5016 by the clerk will report bit -- by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for financial services and general government for fiscal year ending

september 30, 2015, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose on monday, july 14, 20 14, an amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona, mr. gosar, had been disposed of and the bill had been read through page 152, line 15. pursuant to clause 6 of rule -- pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will presume in the following order, an amendment by ms. jackson lee of texas, an amendment by mr. roskam of illinois, an amendment by ms. moore of wisconsin, an amendment by ms. waters of california. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote in the series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment offered by the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes

by electronic device. this will be a two-minute vote. two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 161. the nays are 258. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from illinois, mr. roskam, on which further proceed seedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed in the voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: an amendment offered by mr. roskam of illinois. the chair: a request for a recorded vote -- a recorded vote is requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-minute vote. two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 338. the nays are 80. the amendment is adopted. the unfinished business is on the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from wisconsin, ms. moore, which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. moore of wisconsin. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 170, the nays are 244. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, on which further proceedings were postponed, on which the nays prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. waters of california. the chair: recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will stand and be counted. a sufficient number having risen a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote, the

yeas are 184, the nays are 235, he amendment is not adopted. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> mr. chairman, i move that the committee do now rise. the chair: the question is on the motion that the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: mr. chairman. the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union, having had under consideration h.r. 5016, directs me to report it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 5016 and has

come to no resolution thereon. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. crenshaw: i ask unanimous consent that i may be hereafter considered to be the first sponsor of h.r. 1810, a bill originally introduced by representative ray dell of florida, for the -- ra -- >> i ask unanimous consent that i may be hereafter considered to be the thirst sponsor of h.r. 1810, a bill originallied introduced by representative radel of florida, for the purposes of adding co-sponsors. and reprinting. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair lays before the house a message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states, section 202-d of the national emergencies act, 50 u.s.c.

1622-d provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the president publishes in the national register and transmits to congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue beyond the effect of the anniversary date. in accordance of this -- with this provision i have sent to the register for publication with the enclosed notice, that the emergency with respect to the liberian regime of charles taylor, declared in 2004 is to continue in effect beyond july 22, 2014. although liberia has made significant advances to promote democracy and the special court for sierra leone convicted charles taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the actions and policies of former liberian president charles taylor and other persons, in particular their

depletion of liberian resources and their secreting of liberian funds and properties still challenge liberia's efforts to strengthen its democracy and the orderly development of its political, administrative and economic institutions. these actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to foreign policy of the united states. for this reason, i have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to the former liberian regime of charles taylor. signed, barack obama, the white ouse, july 15, 2014. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. he house will come to order. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania

seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 5021. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i stand in support of h.r. 5021 and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman call up house resolution 5021? >> yes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5021, a bill to provide extension of federal aid highway, transit and other programs funded out of the highway trust fund and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 669, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on ways and means, modified by the amendments printed in house report 113-521, are adopted and the bill, as amended, is

considered read. the bill shall be debatable for one hour, equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking committee on the committee on transportation and infrastructure and the committee on ways and means. the gentleman from president, mr. shuster, mr. rahall, mr. camp and mr. levin each will control 15 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster. mr. shuster: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman will suspend. house will come to order. members -- members will remove their conversations from the floor. the gentleman from pennsylvania may continue. the house is not in order. members will take their conversations off the house

floor. the gentleman from pennsylvania may continue. mr. shuster: thank you, mr. speaker. h.r. 5021, the highway and transportation funding act of 2014 extends federal surface transportation programs and ensures the solvency of the highway trust fund through may of 2015. h.r. 5021 is a clean extension of the surface transportation programs and continues the map 21 reforms. we have an immediate critical need to address the solvency of the trust fund and extend the current surface transportation law this bill does that in a responsible way, with policies that have all previously received strong bipartisan and bicameral support. if congress fails to act, thousands of transportation projects and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country will be at risk.

this legislation provides much-needed certainty and stability for the states. this bill in no way precludes congress from continuing to work on addressing a long-term funding solution and a long-term re-authorization bill which remains a top priority for the transportation infrastructure committee. however this legislation is the responsible solution at this time. it ensures we don't play politics with these programs, enables us to continue making improvements to our surface transportation system, and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: the passage of this bill today is absolutely necessary to keep our surface transportation programs up and running. in less than a month the highway trust fund will go belly up and force feed our states passioned -- rationed payment nares transportation and infrastructure investments. this would starve our national economy, put states in a

desperate situation and cost jobs. congress must act now to avert this unnecessary crisis. the bill under consideration today would help states get through the remainder of the construction season and provide time for congress to come together and pass a long-term surface transportation law so we don't find ourselveses in this crisis mode again. but this needs to happen sooner rather than later. because this bill leave ours highway, transit, and safety programs on auto pilot, while the driverless car may be the wave of the future, it's no way to run our transportation programs. i know the chairman has driven hose cars on auto pilot. passing extension after extension only brings us more of the same in our state -- and our states have already said the status quo isn't meeting their needs. a long-term, robust surface transportation bill is the only way we're going to address our greatest infrastructure challenges. it's the only way to build on what works and reform what

isn't. it's one of the few sure-fire ways to boost our economy, create jobs, and help us compete with our global rivals. starving the beast simply doesn't work when it comes to transportation and infrastructure policy. we need greater investment in our roads and bridges, we need increased focus on moving freight across our borders and overseas. we should grow regional collaborations to build significant projects and we must bring every possible transportation job back to the u.s. to be done by american workers. it's worth noting that this debate is about far more than account, dollar signs, and trust funds. it's about the men and women who work in these industries and have to face needless uncertainty about their futures. it's about those that rely on public transit systems and it's about the driving public who must -- excuse me. must endure aging infrastructure and the car repair bills and safety

concerns that come with it. i'm going to vote for this bill today because it's the best -- not because it's the best solution but because it does avert an immediate crisis and keeps the ball rolling forward. i thank the members of the ways and means committee for their work on this bill and i look forward to working with our chairman, mr. shuster, to bring forward a robust, long-term surface transportation bill to vote on in the near future. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: i wish to yield two minutes to the chairman, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. petri: the debate we're having today is not about the future of the highway trust fund. it's about doing what congress does too often, kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. . i understand that more time is needed to craft a more bipartisan solution. the solution is often well worth the delay.

but mr. speaker, we must come to our senses. we must realize that another short-term patch is not really what our state governments are calling for. this is not what the american trucking association or the chamber of commerce is calling for. for this is not what the american people sent us here to accomplish. we're close -- for close to 50 years, the highway trust fund was self-sustaining. those who used the roads paid for the roadses, but we've been stalling in the 21st century. the fuel tax, which traditionally paid for highway improvements, hasn't changed since 1993. cars have become more fuel efficient or run on alternative needs and infrastructure needs continue to rise. in the highway and transit subcommittee, we had hearing after hearing where state transportation officials, mayors, governors, truckers, transit operators, economists and experts in transportation policy have testified with

unwaivering support for a long-term -- unwavering support for a long-term surface transportation bill and that should be our goal. but at the end of the day we can't let the quest for the perfect stand in the way of the good or the acceptable. in this case, we have an obligation to keep our highway projects going, our transportation moving and our economy growing. since this is the only option we have today, this is what we will do, but we need to stop the patches and budget gimmicks and come up with a viable real solution on how we fund the trust fund. history shows that it is hard to do before an election. perhaps it will be easy to do after that. so i ask my colleagues to consider this question, which is the more responsible path, more budget gimmicks or raising revenues to actually pay for needed spending? thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yields back. the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i'm glad to yield at this point to the ranking member on our highways and transit

subcommittee, the gentlelady from the district of columbia, eleanor holmes norton, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from the district of columbia is recognized for two minutes. ms. norton: i thank my good friend from west virginia for yielding and i thank both the chairman and the ranking member for their hard work on this bill. i know that they would have wanted a long-term bill and that they have worked for a long-term bill. i appreciate that we have a bipartisan, bicameral bill, but i think that for all concerned, it expresses bipartisan disappointment. we are two years -- we had two years to do a bill since map-21 and all we've done is an eight-month stopgap fix. at the same time the states and the localities we represent are probably grateful for small favors. the administration had already insolvency of the trust fund, rationing, with

only what money could come in to replenish the trust fund for each state. we were staring at unsolvent trust fund and a lot of the construction season in the face at the same time. that would have been an economic catastrophe with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. we must use this moment to face that we cannot rebuild our bridges, roads and transit extensions.topgap state backlog of projects would be left untouched by this bill. because we have produced a climate of uncertainty, states won't dare start up the real work that needs to be done on their roads and bridges and transit because they're getting a patchwork bill. patchwork bills yield patched

up roads and bridges and deteriorating transit. at the very least we owe it to the country to revisit this bill as soon as possible and as early as october. e delay in map-21 got us today's stopgap measure. congress needs a spur under its saddle to avoid another delay. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: thank you, mr. speaker. i now recognize the gentleman from arkansas, a state which a referendum rose, increased the user fee to fund the highway system in arkansas, and with that i yield mr. crawford two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: two minutes is recognized to the gentleman from arkansas. mr. crawford: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for his work on h.r. 5021 for which i rise in support this afternoon which provides greater certainty and sufficient funding for infrastructure projects across the nation. without an immediate solution to the highway trust fund's depletion, our states are wondering if there are adequate

funds to complete projects. the arkansas highway and transportation department warned without congressional action, continuing with highway and infrastructure contracts that were scheduled for april would have threatened the ability to pay contractors. as a result, 10 vital projects totaling over $60 million were either put on hold or forced to find alternative methods of temporary financing. my colleagues have described similar scenarios in their own states. across the nation new infrastructure projects have already ground to a halt, threatening general contractors, their employees, suppliers and putting at risk the jobs that are both directly and indirectly supported by these projects. i think most lawmakers can agree ensuring we have a reliable and modern infrastructure on land, water, rail and air is critical. with the senate announcing last week in agreement with chairman camp, we can now turn our attention back to a multiyear transportation bill that will provide long-term assurance for infrastructure improvements. moving forward with a long-term bill, we can spend time with

stakeholders and constituents, the ultimate users of the infrastructure, and allow them to weigh in on what's being considered. as we return our focus to long-term legislation, we must will examine how to reform the highway trust fund so taxpayers will know how their dollars are being spent. with cost increasing and funds at a premium, we owe our constituents a more transparent system that demonstrates effective use of their money on infrastructure improvement. i hope my colleagues will join me in supporting h.r. 5021, and i look forward to working on a long-term comprehensive transportation bill to ensure our nation's future growth. we cannot continue to beat the drum if we're not willing to use our authority to invest in our nation's infrastructure and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield two minutes to the distinguished lady from texas, ms. eddie bernice johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. johnson: thank you very much, mr. speaker. llow me to thank chairman, mr. shuster, and ranking member, mr. rahall, and the subcommittee chair, mr. petri,

and ranking member eleanor holmes norton. i rise today in support of h.r. 5021, the highway and transportation funding act of 2014. in particular, the bill before the house this afternoon would do two things. first, it will provide a total of $35.3 billion for highway public transit and surface transportation programs. secondly, it will extend surface transportation programs authorized under map-21 through 14. 31, 20 i support this bill because it takes almost 50,000 construction jobs in texas out of harm's way, and it ensures that over 3,500 active highway and transit projects in texas will not be slowed or stopped by the highway trust fund's shortfall. however, my support for this bill is reluctant. as i believe we have missed another opportunity to craft a long-term highway program yet again.

while i'm pleased that we have come together to address the impeding highway crisis, we're also kicking the can down the road again. today's 65% of our nation's roads are rated at less than good condition and 25% of our bridges require significant repair. in texas alone, we have over 300,000 miles of public roads, 8% of which are in poor condition. the measure before us today all but ensures that we will be having this exact same debate again sometime in the next congress. rather what we need to do is about the long-term plan that will provide certainty, increased transit investments and keep workers in our construction industry on the job. when we return from the august recess, i urge my colleagues to work together and begin crafting a long-term surface transportation bill. we have seen again and again legislating by crisis is not

effective. as -- can i have 30 seconds? mr. rahall: i yield the gentlelady an additional 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for 30 seconds. ms. johnson: we owe our constituents no less than best and enacting a long-term bill is needed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: it's now my pleasure to yield to one of the committee's true experts on infrastructure, smalltown mayor, small city mayor, construction business owner, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. barletta. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for two minutes. mr. barletta: mr. speaker, i rise in support of this legislation that will keep our highway trust fund solvent until we agree on a long-term solution. if we fail to act, the money to fund surface transportation projects will soon run dry. that could result in a stoppage of more than 7,000 projects.

we would lose countless jobs across the country and in my home state of pennsylvania as well. i've always supported a highway bill that -- of at least five years or more, but in absence of one, i support this proposal, give russ time to work out a longer term funding solution. we need a plan that will meet our transportation needs while also providing contractors and builders the guidance they need to invest in equipment and employees. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this important piece of legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from california, . janice hahn, a very valued member of our committee on transportation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. hahn: i want to thank the chairman, ranking member for bringing this measure before us

today. this bill is important for keeping our highways and transit systems solvent and i intend to vote for it. letting it become insolvent is inresponsible and increase congestion. once our work is done here today, we do need a long-term creative solution to fund our much-needed transportation projects in this country. over 64% of the roads in los angeles are in utter disrepair, costing each resident driver nearly $832 a year. my own dad, who was a county supervisor in los angeles for 40 years, used to offer people a dollar for every pothole they could find in his district. if he made that offer today, he would go broke. and to fill this funding gap, i support looking at different ways of funding our roads in addition to the gas tax, such as vehicle miles traveled, which charges drivers by the miles that they travel. for our national economy, we

need to focus on freight infrastructure. freight bottle necks cost us approximately $200 billion a year. and yesterday i introduced the national freight network trust fund act for a long-term fix that creates dedicated funding for our freight infrastructure. i urge all of my colleagues to support this short-term fix and join me in looking forward to solving this problem long term. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: thank you, mr. speaker. it's now my pleasure to yield to a gentleman from a state that's been one of the most innovative states in funding and moving projects forward at a very fast pace, the gentleman from indiana, mr. bucshon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. bucshon: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this legislation. last year i was honored to be a conferee for map-21, the highway bill, and i'm proud of the bill our conference committee produced and was subsequently signed into law. our nation's transportation

projects are being completed faster and states like my home state of indiana receive more federal funding than they had in the past. we do need a long-term solution to fund our infrastructure. today, however, we need to support this extension. this funding is critical for projects such as interstate 69, which runs through my district. with construction season under way, we need to ensure that every state can continue with a sum -- the summer construction projects that are ongoing. this legislation is necessary to keep thousands of americans working to rebuild our infrastructure. improving the flow of commerce and ensuring the safety of americans as they travel. i'd like to thank chairman camp and chairman shuster for their leadership, and i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. he gentleman from pennsylvania

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: i'm pleased to yield to the ranking member on the house natural resources committee. strike all that. all right, ok, then, i'll continue where i was and yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. defazio: we can pretend we care about the future of america and its transportation system, we used to be number one in the world, widely recognized, now we're rated 26th and we're moving down quick thrism system is falling apart. 140,000 bridges need repair or replacement. 40% of the pavement on the national highway system is failed to the point where you have to dig it up, not just resurface it and a $70 billion backlog in our transit systems, just to bring everything up to a state of good repair.

that's not even to begin to think about building a 21st century transportation system to compete with the rest of the world. china, 9% of g.d.p. goes to transportation, they want to move people and goods more efficiently and out-compete us. brazil, 6%. india, 6%. the united states of america, 1%. now we've got to get serious about this. we're going to today do a little shuffling around of some money and say, oh, we can pretend by pension smoothing and this and that that we're creating money so we get around, we're not create manager debt or deficit here. you know, come on. it's pretty phony stuff. let's get real about how we're going to find our transportation future. we're fighting with people who believe in a theory called devolution. they want to devolve the duty of infrastructure building to the 50 states and let them

figure it out. we tried that. kansas 956, the turnpike hended in a farmer's feelt for years because oklahoma couldn't afford their part of the system until the eisenhower bill passed and we had a highway trust fund. we know this works. user fee based. national system. coordinating aamong the states. not having roads that disconnect at the border, nottle toing the heck out of everything -- not tolling the heck out of everything that some people would have us do. what are you going to say to the port of los angeles where 40% of the freight comes to the country, you figure out how to get the freight out of l.a. and you pay for it. it's national obligation. we have to get serious this bill here today is not serious or long-term. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from spelve recognized. mr. shuster: it's my pleasure to yield to a long-term member of the transportation and infrastructure committee, the gentlelady from west virginia,

mrs. capito. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank chairman shuster and ranking member rahall for bringing this bill to the floor today. more than 700,000 jobs and 6,000 projects -- bridge projects could be in jeopardy if famentes from the federal highway trust fund are delayed. i rise in support of the transportation and funding act which would prevent this catastrophic scenario. in my home state of west irginia, to thousands of projects are receiving government funding. inaction would crip they will action of our state's highway department to maintain roads and bridges after a articularly harsh winter and build new projects like the king coal highway. american workers and small business december serve certainty that the federal government will continue to invest this our nation's infrastuckture. today's bill provides that certainty for the remainder of

the construction season but i wait, as most of us do, to complete the work on the longer term bill. i ask my colleagues to join me in passing the highway and transportation funding act and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from west irginia is recognized. mr. rahall: i'm pleased to yield to the distinguished minority whip, the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer a strong supporter of our infrastructure in this country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for how much time? mr. rahall: i thought he got such time as he wanted, but i yield him two minutes. mr. hoyer: those were the good old days, i tell my friend mr. rahall, when i got an unlimited one minute. there's some good news. the good news is that this committee is chaired by someone who wants to invest in america, grow jobs and expand our economy. i speak of my friend, bill shuster. and i thank him for that the other good news is that our

ranking democrat, nick rahall, has a hist i of making sure america invested in its infrastructure. the bad news is this bill does not give what mrs. capito suggests it gives and that is certainty. , gives a temporary inadequate response to what is a long-term problem. i won't ask him the question but i believe that mr. shuster absolutely agrees with me. we ought to find a fiscally sustainable funding source for our infrastructure and highway system. mr. speaker, well maintained highway structures support the growth of our economy and creates good jobs. that's why i've been advocating far long-term, sustainable fix that makes investments in our roads and bridges and provides certainty that needed repairs will be completed. i'm for a big deal, not just certainty in infrastructure but certainty in the investment in our economy. i will continue to advocate that.

this bill, unfortunately, does not do that. it is better than doing nothing, but it does not do what we need to do. in fact, by implementing a short-term fix, only until may, this bill promotes uncertainty for construction firms and other businesses that rely on projects paid for by the highway trust fund which supports american jobs. it also, mr. speaker, puts congress in the position of having to deal with this issue next may, as next year's summer construction season is about to begin. without any certainty of what we will do. democrats would prefer to work with republicans to pass a long-term fix now, or if we cannot do that, re-authorize it for a few months so that we to return this issue after the november elections and pass a long-term fix. but we cannot take the risk of allowing this fund to run dry this summer.

the highway trust fund supports the infrastructure improvements and enables manufacturers to move their products to market faster and help attract businesses and jobs from overseas. it helps us to make it in america. manufacture it, grow it, sell it here and around the world. if we allow it to go broke, our economy could lose as many as 700,000 jobs, according to the department of transportation. this bill, i think, will get some support. some significant support. on our side of the aisle. but not because it is our choice. not because it is the right way to go. and in my view, as i said, i don't want to hurt him with his party or with anybody outside of this chamber but i think mr. shuster adeprees we need a long-term solution. so i urge my -- agrees we need a long-term solution. so i urge my colleagues to work together in a bipartisan fashion to get a long-term, confidence-building resolution of this stop and jerk or go and

jerk funding process that we are adopting and i thank the gentleman for yielding me the time and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: thank you, mr. speaker. i do agree with the distinguished minority whip that we need a long-term solution to the trust fund and a long-term bill to provide certainty to this nation when it comes to our transportation system. and with that i yield one minute to one of the newest members of the committee, but one of the hardest working member os they have committee, mr. davis of illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. supporting h.r. 5021 mean prospecting hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout this great country. but more specifically, in illinois, it means saving nearly 30,000 jobs and 4,000 construction projects that are already under way. supporting this bill means

improving our crumbling roads and bridges, a constitutional responsibility of this body. supporting h.r. 5021 means governing responsibly instead of creating yet another manufactured crisis. it would add even more uncertainty and instability to a still struggling economy. by extending this highway trust fund which is not my first choice, if we extend this bill and these programs through may, we can continue working on that long-term highway bill that both sides of the aisle stand here and say we need. and we can create jobs and keep up with our 21st century transportation needs. the highway trust fund has fallen short for many years and we need to come up with long-term solutions and i look forward to working with my colleagues from the other side of the aisle and chairman shuster and his -- in his continued leadership. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: may we have a time

check? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia has one minute remain, the gentleman from pennsylvania has six minutes remaining. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: first, can i -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has six minutes remaining. mr. shuster: it's my pleasure to yield two minutes to the former chairman of the committee, mr. mica. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. mica: thank you, mr. chairman, mr. speaker, and distinguished ranking member. thank you for your hard work in trying to put a band-aid on our bleeding transportation funding. thank you for trying to get the transportation cart out of the ditch. we have reached the 11th hour and soon, projects will be closing down across the country.

it's unfortunate that we're at this juncture in the road to funding transportation responsibly. we had a chance for a five-year bill and we did not have the leadership, i believe, from the white house. in fact, president obama was awol during that entire process. and now today we see the president is going -- he's been to the bridge, he's going to be at another site. he's out at a research thing, talking about transportation. funding. where was the president when mr. oberstar, the distinguished gentleman who recently passed away, was chair of the committee, offered a bill and he came and cut his legs out from underneath the democrat chairman. we would have had a longer term, fully funded bill. here is the president, whether t's to secure or boarders,

where has he been? he says he doesn't do photo ops he, does them now and will for transportation. he doesn't need to be at the bridge, he needs to be here working with the distinguished members of congress for a long-term solution. he was absent at the border and he's absent as we need to secure our nation's train structure. this is not acceptable and i support this measure because it's an extension of what we did. it doesn't have deficit spending. it's responsible -- responsibly paid for. it doesn't have earmarks. the last bill had 6,300 earmarks. not this billism support the measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: we have no more speakers on our side, we'll continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia.

mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is regular niced for ne minute. >> i will vet for this stopgap measure but with that said, i want to echo my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have called for a long-term sustainable fix of our highway trust fund so that the united states of america can compete in the world's market. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield the rest of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of me time. mr. rahall is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. rahall: much has been said today in dislike of this temporary fix and i could not agree more, it's not my preference. we all want to address this in a long-term, robust manner and that is also the opinion of the transportation trades

department, the afl-cio, who say that further delay will only maintain the status quo and keep workers off the job, undercutting long-term planning and hind the country's advance to the 21st century transportation system and a very similar view, like view, expressed by the u.s. chamber of commerce when they say in the chamber's view, the longer the pass, the easier it will be to kick the can down the road. i hope we come back before next may and address this issue. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: how much time? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has four minutes. mr. shuster: i want to start by expressing my condolences to former chairman of the transportation and infrastructure committee, i guess back then it was public works committee, chairman bobreaux he, passed away at the edge -- bob row he, passed away

-- bob roe, he passed away this morning at the age of 90. i want to thank the entire ways and means committee for passing h.r. 5021.ice vote it's a clean extension of the surface transportation programs that continues the map 21 reforms this extension is necessary to provide much-needed certainty and stability for states while we continue to work on addressing a long-term funding solution and a long-term re-authorization bill and i'm committed to that, i know that the transportation committee is going to work diligently with the ways and means committee on finding a long-term solution to the funding and also to passing a strong, long-term re-authorization bill. mr. speaker, i encourage all members to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back the balance of his ime.

the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is now recognized. mr. camp: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: at the end of this month, states across the country will be forced to put road constructions on hold if congress cannot address the highway trust fund. at risk are hundreds of thousands of jobs in the construction industry. a strong infrastructure is central to commerce and at a time when millions of americans are packing their bags to take a vacation or just traveling to work, we must ensure that projects can be completed so that the roads, bridges and highways they travel on are modernized and safe. the bill before us today, h.r.

5021, will provide enough funding to get us through may 31, 2015, giving states the ability to complete projects. this bill is the only package with all provisions having a proven history of getting big bipartisan votes in both the house and the senate. the three provisions, pensions moving, custom user fees and leaking underground storage tanks, have all been used previously in bills that received strong bipartisan votes. pension smoothing was included in the last bipartisan highway trust fund legislation. these are policies everyone is familiar with. they are policies that will provide the funding we need and they are the only policies that will pass both the house and senate in time to fund our highways after the end of this month. a long-term solution would be my preference, and an important feature of my tax reform discussion draft would provide enough revenue to maintain the solvency of the highway trust fund for eight years. in the meantime, i hope all members of congress can work on a longer term solution by the

end of may next year. this won't be an easy task, so it's important that congress has time to have a deliberative, open debate about bipartisan solutions rather than trying to hit americans who are already paying more for gas with a gas tax hike. it's time to act now. state transportation departments have already started delaying our stopping certain highway projects to prepare for the fact that funding may fall short. americans across the country deserve to see less gridlock on the roads and from their elected representatives. these policies are straightforward and have a history of bipartisan, bicameral support. i'm encouraged that the white house issued their support for the house highway bill, so we have an opportunity to solve this problem today. i'd like to enter in the record the administration's statement of support. we also have strong industry support in a letter to congress -- i ask unanimous consent to enter the letter into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. camp: we also have strong industry support in letter to

congress from 62 organizations including the u.s. chamber of commors, american roads and transportation builder association, the american trucker association and national association of manufacturers which stated, and i quote, a long-term federal commitment to prioritize and invest in our aging infrastructure and safety needs is essential to achieve this goal. keeping the highway trust fund solvent is the first step, end of quote. i'd like to enter into the record the statement of support and ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. camp: a yes vote will avoid a last-minute crisis -- will avoid a last-minute crisis. also, we need to fund important highway proscombrects and ensure that thousands of jobs are not at risk. i thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. -- projects and ensure that thousands of jobs are not at risk. i thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. len levin thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. -- mr. levin: thank you.

i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: thank you. i will support this bill because it's the 11th hour. no, it's a few minutes before midnight. more than 100,000 transportation projects could be delayed, and as many as 700,000 jobs put at risk. but this legislation is a patch when what our nation's infrastructure needs is major repair. doing nothing is not an option, but we should be doing much better. he republicans, i must say, in this house talk a lot about the need for certainty, but they have riddled infrastructure funding with uncertainty. the fact that we're in this position illustrates just how little house republicans have done since they assumed the majority in 2011 to address the long-term problems facing the trust fund and our infrastructure.

every democrat on ways and means urged our chairman, mr. camp, to hold a series of hearings on long-term financing options for the trust fund. yet, the committee has not held a single hearing on this topic in the three years and six months the republicans have been in the majority. and since 2011, the committee has had nearly two dozen hearings on repealing or dismantling a.c.a., and in the last 14 months a half dozen hearings on the i.r.s. those are not the priorities that are going to lead to a long-term solution of the trust fund. a nation, in a word, deserves better than this short shift. it needs a long-term solution. democrats on ways and means proposed an extension until december 31 in order to pressure a long-term solution

this year. all of us on the democratic side voted yes, and all the republicans voted no. let me end with a word on unemployment insurance. senate democrats and republicans passed a bill to extend unemployment insurance that included an almost identical set of offsets as those included in today's legislation. the house republicans refused to take up that measure, at the same time calling them some -- some of them an offset pie in the sky plan. here we are and 3 1/2 million americans are waiting on house republicans to allow just one vote on a bipartisan plan to extend unemployment benefits. it's time that house republicans get priorities straight. mr. speaker, i would now ask that the balance of my time now

be given to a distinguished member of our committee who has worked so hard with the rest of us on highway issues, mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from michigan, mplamp, is -- mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. blumenauer: i'm pleased that congress is finally acting today, not with a looming crisis but one that is already upon us. this is entirely predictable. i've been arguing for months that congress meeds to act because the stopgap -- needs to act because the stopgap measure 62 groups may have signed on letter of support but they prefer us to act meaningfully for long-term

funding. they accept this because it's the only alternative to shutting down activities this summer. my republican friends are unwilling, not unable, but unwilling to resolve the funding contradictions. revenues have failed to keep pace with the demands of an aging, growing nation, making no change for 21 years as our infrastructure ages and falls apart, our nation continues to grow and transportation patterns change. it's guaranteed that we should change as well. this congress has refused to address its responsibilities. the house ways and means committee has not had a single hearing on transportation finance. one of our most important responsibilities uniquely ours, one that is unlike so many other items we deal with, it's possible to resolve. we haven't had a hearing in the 43 months that the republicans have been in charge of congress. now, i understand there are conflicts within the republican caucus. there are some that appear

satisfied with locking us in to a slow, steady decline called for in the republican budget. no new projects until october of 2015 and a 30% reduction over the next decade at exactly the time the federal partnership should be enhanced, not reduced. there are others that abandon ship to give up on the partnership, slash the federal gas tax and abandon any hope of any transportation policy and partnership to help states with projects that are multistate in nature. that would be tragic and wrong to abandon the partnership that's meant so much, but it's part of what's driving some of our republican tea party friends. just because they may not be a majority in their ranks, for either approach, doesn't mean we need to continue to dither. because republicans are unable or unwilling to resolve this,

we've froze the transportation committee in place. they don't have a bill. they're not going to have a bill unless we resolve what the budget number is. increase, continue the downward slide or abandon it altogether? we will be no better off next may to resolve this question. in fact, we will be worse off because we will be in the middle of a presidential campaign with a new congress, maybe new committee lineups. so as one of the stakeholders told me as we filed out of the hearing room last week, may, 2015, is really may, 2017, and i might add, at the earliest. we should reject this approach to hand off our responsibilities. we should resolve the resource question and we should commit this congress is not going to recess for august vacation, not going to recess to campaign in october until we've worked to give the marn people a transportation bill they need, deserve to jump-start the economy, create hundreds of thousands of family wage jobs, strengthen communities and families across the nation. american infrastructure used to be the best in the world and

bring proud. it is now an embarrassment and we fall behind global leaders. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: in addition to the statement of administration position in support of the legislation, which has been entered into the record, as well as a letter from 62 organizations in support of the legislation, including the american trucking association, american farm bureau, national association of manufacturers, i also have a letter from the u.s. chamber of commerce which is the world's largest business federation which represents more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors and regions is key voting this legislation and has written a separate letter in support of this bill. so i'd ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the chamber of commerce letter

regarding h.r. 5021. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. camp: thank you. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. blumenauer: i'd represent -- i'd recognize mr. pascrell of new jersey, one of the champions in our committee for infrastructure in america. the speaker pro tempore: for how long? mr. blumenauer: for 1 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. pascrell: i want to thank our ranking member, mr. speaker, and i want to thank our chair, our ranking member who was here a few moments ago. it's ironic, asry said earlier today, when we take up the transportation and infrastructure legislation that just a few hours ago the champion of transportation and infrastructure passed away. he was the chairman of the transportation committee. at that time it was the public works committee. he left the congress in 1992. so it's ironic. and mr. chairman, you got --

through the speaker -- you have to understand the frustration that exists on both sides of the aisle on this legislation. we know what's needed. we know what's going to happen by the end of august. many projects throughout the united states of america will just shut down or begin to shut down. bills will not be paid. that's not good. that's not acceptable. but on the other hand, when the dust settles, the very committee that we represent where everything goes through, the ways and means committee, will have voted for close to $1 trillion when the dust settles, unpaid for permanent tax cuts, many of which were never meant to be permanent -- check the record. so we can do this and add $1 trillion to the deficit and we an't come up with a bipartisan

five-year, six-year transportation plan. wait until the bridges fall down, then we'll do something about it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. levin: i yield the gentleman 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 seconds. mr. pascrell: the estimates of how much we need to repair our ystem run as high as $57 trillion a year, the actual spending was only $103 billion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from oregon mr. blumenauer: i recognize