Feb. 27, 2010
 
RAHALL: GOP Objection Stops Extension Bill, May Force Furloughs
 
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
 
Washington, DC (HNN) – U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) announced Friday, Feb. 26, that due to the objections of a single Republican Senator, funding for federal highway, transit and highway safety programs will run out at midnight Sunday night, Feb. 28. The expiration may also force employee layoffs at the Department of Transportation, including the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 
“I find it outrageous that one Senator can kill a piece of legislation and cause chaos for our cities and states,” said Rahall, who is Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “Thanks to this one person’s intransigence, our state will not be reimbursed for its federal share of highway projects until we get this mess sorted out. This will cause nothing but grief in West Virginia, especially at a time when we and other states are struggling with severe weather hampering our transportation needs.”
 
The current surface transportation authorization act, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), was due to expire last September 30, but has been kept alive by a series of extensions while Congress considers a replacement authorization bill. The latest extension expires Sunday.
 
Employees at the three DOT agencies face layoffs beginning Tuesday unless Congress acts quickly to restore the lost funding. A different bill pending in the House would extend SAFETEA-LU through the end of 2010. That bill may come up for a vote as early as Tuesday, and it is possible that the employees would not be furloughed if there is assurance that enactment of a funding bill is imminent.
 
In the meantime, states may have to suspend work on some road and bridge projects while they wait for their reimbursement payments from the federal government.