IL Congressman Schock believes Congress can pass transportation bill

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-Peoria) believes Congress can find the bipartisan support to send President Obama a long-term, robust transportation bill before the end of Summer. The Congressman has taken an aggressive approach (video) with House Republican Leadership to advocate for a long-term transportation initiative. He reported yesterday in Peoria  to a group of transportation advocates from across the state that it has been an uphill battle to convince leaders bent on deficit reduction that transportation spending should be treated differently from other types of government spending. Despite the challenges, the Congressman said he is making progress on a bill and has a plan to pay for it.

Schock reported that House leaders would unveil legislation in the first or second week of February that would propose a five-year transportation bill with moderate steps up in funding each year. The legislation would be paid for by utilizing the existing gas-tax, plus revenues from the leasing of domestic gas and oil resources. Schock reported that the Congressional Budget Office is willing to score the leasing revenues at $50 billion over the first two years of the legislation. Schock reported that the legislation will include the leasing of lands in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Gulf of Mexico and other public lands that could rake in an estimated $800 billion dollars to fund transportation investment.

On the issue of bipartisan support, Schock said he has been gathering signatures on a letter to President Obama supporting the plan and that the letter has garnered nearly 150 signatures from an equal mix of Democrats and Republicans. The Congressman also iterated his commitment to negotiating with the Senate and White House to find a path forward on funding a long-term transportation bill.