Senate Blocks Highway Bill;
Dems Want More Time for Review
By Eugene Mulero
(original article here)
The Senate voted not to proceed with a six-year highway policy measure July 21 that transportation leaders and the chamber’s Republican leadership crafted after several intense days of negotiations.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he hopes to have a new cloture vote July 22, after senators have had more time to peruse the 1,030-page bill. He also threatened to call members in for sessions on Saturday and even Sunday.
The lead negotiators — McConnell (R-Ky.), Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), among them — said funding for the first three years of the bill would be authorized.
Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said most of the Democrats who opposed taking up the measure complained they had been given about an hour to review the legislation. Reid noted he will meet with his caucus July 22 to hear from leaders of the committees of jurisdiction.
“We want to be as cooperative as we can, but we’re not going to lurch into this legislation without having a chance to read in detail this 1,030 page bill,” Reid said.
READ THE SUMMARY: Highlights of bill
Overall, the legislation would provide flexibility for both rural and urban areas to designate key freight corridors that match regional goods movement on roads beyond the Primary Highway Freight System. It would establish an annual multibillion dollar freight program meant to help states deliver projects, and it would approve increases in funding to repair bridges.
The trust fund’s funding authority expires July 31. Last week, the House advanced an $8 billion patch meant to keep the fund sustainable through mid-December.
The Environment and Public Works panel on July 21 unveiled highway policy legislation covering surface transportation policy, truck safety provisions and transit and security measure.