U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, criticized state lawmakers Tuesday for failing to pass a transportation bill, while previewing federal legislation to improve the nation’s infrastructure.
McCaskill called the state’s $600 million construction budget to oversee 33,000 miles of roadways a “recipe for disaster.”
“We cannot have a strong economy in Missouri if we do not have an ongoing commitment to investing in our highways, our bridges, and even our lochs and dams, and projects on our great rivers,” McCaskill said.
The Democratic Senator says she supports Republican State Senator Mike Kehoe’s bill that allows voters to decide on a one-cent sales tax to fund transportation projects. The proposal, which passed the House, was blocked by other Senate Republicans in the last week of the session.
McCaskill is teaming with Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio on a bill to bolster infrastructure jobs by streamlining the permitting process on major capital projects. She intends to introduce the legislation next week.