Happy Friday! Hopefully, everyone had a wonderful 4th weekend. Fireworks might have been officially canceled in most towns, but Google images show that illegal fireworks were alive and well. Freedom rings, indeed. America isn't perfect, but we are always improving and there's no place else I'd rather live.

What's going on in D.C.?
While this the news this year has been unprecedented in multiple levels, some things never change, and stalemate reigns in our nation's capital. Despite legislators of both parties, and the White House, agreeing that infrastructure legislation is badly needed, the two sides can not agree on the exact scope of the bill.
The House transportation bill was initially a $500 billion surface transportation bill. The package quickly ballooned to $1.5 trillion and passed on a party-line vote. Senate Majority Leader has already said this legislation is dead on arrival in the Senate. The Senate is in session until August 7th. There is still time for a surface transportation bill- the $500 billion portion only- but that time is running out quickly.
The other potential is some funding as part of an additional COVID bill but I think that is a longer shot at this point.

Forth of July Travel Down from 2019
In what is becoming a theme for this newsletter, we continue to point out reduced travel and the consequent staggering revenue shortages. The United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics put out some great graphics regarding holiday travel:

This is the total trips taken Monday-Sunday on the week of July 4th.