Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar voted in favor of H.R. 22, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015. For months, Rep. Aguilar has continuously called on Congress to forgo short-term solutions to the transportation bill and focus on a long-term plan that allows cities and towns in San Bernardino County—and across the country— to plan and execute crucial infrastructure projects. The bipartisan bill reauthorizes funding for roads, rails and bridge projects for the next six years.

“This long-term solution is critical for San Bernardino County, where federal funds assist important local projects such as the I-215 Bi-County HOV lane project,” said Aguilar. He added, “I’m glad Congress came together to see this through and I will continue to work with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to create jobs by ensuring that our roads, rails and bridges are safe and secure for the millions of working families and businesses that depend on them each and every day.”

The bill contains an important amendment offered by Rep. Aguilar which will help put veterans back to work. The amendment, which unanimously passed the House yesterday afternoon, will facilitate the process for veterans who drove specialized vehicles in the military to transition those skills to civilian jobs driving commercial vehicles. Rep. Aguilar debated the amendment on the floor, which can be viewed here. The highway reauthorization bill passed the House of Representatives on a 363 to 64 vote. It will now move to a conference between the House and the Senate for final negotiations.