U.S. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday he welcomes a plan to extend U.S. highway funding until May 31, 2015, from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp and hopes to see it pass the House of Representatives in the next two weeks.
_0">"I think Chairman Camp and the members of the Ways and Means Committee have a really solid bill to help pay for the shortfall, if you will, in the Highway Trust Fund for the next eight or nine months," Boehner told reporters.
Camp's $10.9 billion plan would be paid for with some fund transfers and revenue-raising measures, including $6.5 billion in new revenue from "pension smoothing," an accounting move that allows companies to delay contributions to employee pension plans. This boosts short-term corporate profits, producing more tax revenue collected by the U.S. Treasury.
(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Bill Trott)