Senate pressures Obama administration on highway funding

The Senate put the heat on the Obama administration to take a more active role when it comes to highway funding during an 80-minute session on infrastructure on November 18. However, the U.S. DOT’s undersecretary for policy, Roy Kienitz, did not indicate that the White House was ready to desert its call for an 18-month extension of SAFETEA-LU in favor of a six-month extension. Right now states are more concerned about the cancellation of $8.7 billion in contracting authority, which is forcing a 30% cut in local spending power.