Durbin Statement on Passage of Highway Trust Fund Extension
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement after the Senate passed a bill to finance the Highway Trust Fund through December 19, 2014. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.
“I am pleased this bill will help us continue work on the construction projects around Illinois that are creating jobs and improving our roads, bridges, highways and mass transit. The Senate bill includes sufficient funding to avoid a transportation shutdown. It also keeps us focused on the goal of finding a long-term solution to maintaining and modernizing our transportation network through a stable and well-funded highway trust fund.”
U.S. Census Bureau data shows the design, construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure supports 138,701 full-time jobs in Illinois. These employees earn a total annual payroll of $5.7 billion and contribute an estimated $500 million in state and federal payroll tax revenue. This employment includes the equivalent of 69,000 full-time jobs directly involved in transportation infrastructure construction and related activities.
The state receives roughly $2 billion in annual transportation funds from the federal government. $1.4 billion of these funds are for highways, roads and bridges and come from the Highway Trust Fund.