Restore T.R.U.S.T.

Forbes.com
By MURRAY EVANS, Associated Press
12.07.10, 08:05 AM EST

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley said Monday he's hopeful Congress will pass a temporary extension of a federal highway funding bill by the end of this year and that he wants incoming federal legislators to enact a more permanent solution next year.

Ridley told Oklahoma transportation commissioners that states have been operating under stopgap funding measures since the current federal highway funding bill - passed in 2005 and written by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. - expired last year. The current extension is set to expire Dec. 31 and Ridley said he expects Congress to approve another temporary funding measure, good through September, during its lame-duck session.

Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for Inhofe, said he expects such a measure will pass within the next two weeks. But considering that more than 60 percent of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation's construction budget comes from federal dollars, Ridley said a long-term solution is necessary as soon as possible.

"The longer the extension, the easier it is to do our work," he said. "It's important for all of us to be able to plan and move forward with our operations."

He said his dealings with Oklahoma's congressional delegation have convinced him that "all of them are concerned that we have a long-term bill . . . that is fiscally responsible and that ensures that it has the funds tied to it so that we don't have these stopgap problems as we move forward." FULL ARTICLE