As of Thursday, September 8, 2011 the much talked about Transportation Bill known as SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) was approved by a Senate committee.
This bill has had a significant amount of publicity ever since President Barack Obama made a speech from the White House Rose Garden last week, in which he was joined by Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, as well as Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and also David Chavern, the chief operating officer of the Chamber of Commerce. He gave Congress another warning at that time also, stating that letting the transportation bill expire at the end of the month would be “not acceptable” and “inexcusable.”
The Senate Committee approved an extension of the current bill. This is the eighth time the bill has been extended. This will serve as a step in the right direction for the Transportation Industry, but as many have said, an extension is like a band aid on a bigger problem. There still needs to be new legislation put in place for this industry, it cannot simply be ignored.
However, the act of extending the bill seems to be all either party can agree to. The Democratically-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have presented vastly different options for this bill. The House proposed spending $235 billion over the next six years, while the senate proposed spending $109 billion over the next two years.
When asked to comment on the decision, Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey stated: “The American people didn’t send us here to make unemployment worse and allow our roads to crumble—and that’s why we must act swiftly to extend this law," he continued. "Instead of putting up roadblocks to this extension, I hope our colleagues will work with us to fix the economy, help Americans get back to work and keeps our country moving forward. Once we have passed this short-term fix, we need to complete work on a long-term bill that strengthens investment in our national transportation network to create jobs, maintain our roads and bridges, and invest in rail and transit to ease commutes.”
This is a positive step for the Trucking and Transportation Industry. Although it is still not possible to file Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes with Form 2290, the folks at Express Truck Tax will be available to answer any questions and help drivers file those taxes. For more information, visit the Express Truck Tax website or call our Truck Tax experts at 704-234-6005. You can also email any questions to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.
