Transportation Crisis Looms, Obama Officials Warn

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration warns that gridlock in Washington will lead to gridlock across the country if lawmakers can't quickly agree on how to pay for highway and transit programs.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday that states will begin to feel the pain of cutbacks in highway and transit aid as soon as the first week in August — peak summer driving time. That's because the balance in the federal Highway Trust Fund is dropping and will soon go below $4 billion. That's the cushion officials say is needed for incoming revenue from fuel taxes to cover outgoing promised payments to states.

President Barack Obama also raised the issue briefly in a Cabinet meeting, and was expected to expand on it at an event later in the day.