Another attempt to add more revenue to the Highway Trust Fund was blocked in the Senate on July 30, when advocates lost a procedural vote. An $8-billion infusion for the trust fund is part of a bill to extend various expiring tax breaks, including some for renewable energy sources, but the measure's proponents fell nine votes short of the 60 needed to close off debate on the bill.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who introduced the "extenders" bill that includes the trust fund "fix," said, "This is the fourth time that senators have failed to do what's right on this tax-relief bill, and they're going to hear about it [from constituents] over the August recess."

Construction industry and state officials have been seeking a way to add revenue to the trust fund to address a projected $3.1-billion deficit in the fund's highway account in fiscal 2009. The House on July 23 approved a stand-alone bill that would shift $8 billion to the trust fund from the general fund, but the plan hasn't made it through the Senate.

Advocates of renewable energy sources also were disappointed by the Senate vote. It leaves in limbo such provisions as a solar energy tax credit, which is scheduled to expire at the end of December. Baucus' bill would have extended the solar credit for eight years.

Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said, "Time is running out to extend the solar tax credits and without passage in the immediate future, tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars will be lost in new solar investment."