The Senate is expected to vote on a temporary transportation spending bill later this week — with an emphasis on the word temporary.
The bill would keep highway funding flowing through May of next year, and avert a looming infrastructure crisis. Without congressional action, the highway trust fund would run out of cash in August.
The short-term fix follows a familiar pattern. It goes something like this:
First, panic erupts because the government is going to shut down — or a program is going to run out of money — or a tax will automatically rise. Whatever it is, without congressional action, something really terrible will happen.
Then, just when it seems like there's no hope, a deal emerges. Often it's a bipartisan solution, not a big one, and not a permanent fix. A temporary one, for a few weeks or a few months.
Then when the next deadline draws near, the countdown clocks come out once again.
It's All Politics
Temporary Fix For Highway Money Is Well-Traveled Road