Report: Presidential veto a possibility for next highway patch

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx indicated President Obama might veto a Highway Trust Fund patch if Congress passes one before the July 31 expiration of federal transportation funding.

According to The Hill, Foxx said Obama plans to wait and see what Congress produces ahead of the end-of-month deadline. Foxx added that Obama’s patience is wearing thin with the extensive number of temporary funding extensions Congress has passed in recent years.

“I think we’re quickly getting to the point where the value of another extension may be less than the value of breaking the cycle,” Foxx said.

According to The Hill, Foxx also said the temporary road-funding patches lawmakers have passed in recent years are preventing states from completing construction projects.

“The system is falling apart,” Foxx said. “I will tell you that at current funding levels and with the spate of short-term extensions we’ve had, we’re damaging the system.”

According to The Hill, Obama has ultimately signed previous temporary highway extension to avoid interruptions in road and transit project spending. Still, Foxx said the president might take a different course of action this month.

“I’m telling you that we’ve got to break to cycle,” Foxx said.