U.S. Chamber ads push for highway bill passage
Americans for Transportation Mobility, a consortium of dozens of business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will air television ads during the State of the Union coverage tonight urging lawmakers to fully fund a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill as soon as possible.
House and Senate negotiators and the administration could not reach compromise on a spending blueprint last year, leaving many projects in limbo. The current spending program, which authorized $218 billion over six years for highway, transit, research and motor carrier programs, expired Sept. 30, 2003 and was extended five times by Congress. The latest bill is set to expire on May 30.
The chamber has made increased funding for transportation infrastructure a top priority.
The ads will air on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.