The head of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Friday an announcement on a possible 30-day extension in the federal highway program could come later.
The program expired Thursday at midnight, for lack of a vote on pending infrastructure legislation. But an infrastructure vote awaits negotiations on a $3.5 trillion budget package.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said a 30-day extension is all that is possible without providing more funding to the Transportation Department.
“The discussion is ongoing,” DeFazio said.
An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 workers at five Transportation Department agencies are furloughed because of the lapse of the highway program, according to the Congressional Research Service.
– Bart Jansen
As she headed into a Democratic Caucus meeting about President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion package of social welfare programs, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., outlined key priorities and said it was time for the party to deliver on them.
“We need to be real," she said. "Are we going to deliver universal pre-K to this country or not? Are we going to expand health care to our seniors and include vision and dental or not? Are we going to invest in housing?"
“That’s what we want to deliver to people and that’s what we’re fighting to protect,” she said.
– Bart Jansen
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