Congress Reaches Agreement on Highway Bill
Congressional leaders reached tentative agreement on a highway bill, agreeing to maintain current federal transportation levels for 27 months, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The measure also drops a Republican-backed provision for approval the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the Associated Press reported. House Republicans had pushed for that but the White House threatened to veto the bill if it was included, AP reported.
Related story: ATA praises Congressional action on highway bill.
“The bill is funded at current levels and will protect and create three million jobs,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate Environment Works and Public Works Committee, said in a statement.
House and Senate conferees are expected to pass the measure before the end of the week, prior to the expiration of the current extension of transportation funding on Saturday, the House Transportation Committee said in a statement.
The plan would fund transportation programs through September 2014, Bloomberg reported.
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), who chairs the House panel, said the measure contains “unprecedented reforms for cutting red tape, truly making projects ‘shovel ready’ [and] . . . giving states more flexibility to address their critical priorities.”
