Highway Bill Battle Continues as House GOP, Dems Spar

House Republicans last week tried to whip up enthusiasm for a ninth temporary extension of federal transportation funding, while House Democrats moved to get the Senate’s two-year reauthorization bill on the floor for debate.

The Senate’s $109 billion bill — formally introduced in the House March 21 — is a “fair, bipartisan compromise,” Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), ranking member on the Transportation Committee, said in a statement.

“As we approach the start of construction season, we need to come together to pass a highway bill that will improve our infrastructure and, most importantly, create jobs,” said Rahall.

On the same day the Senate bill was introduced, Republicans beat back a Democratic attempt to win immediate consideration of the measure, which the Senate passed 74-22 on March 14 (3-19, p. 1).

And it was unclear last week if House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would allow a vote on the measure later.

Divisions over policy and funding in their ranks have prevented House Republicans from agreeing on the five-year reauthorization bill put forth earlier this year by Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.).

Mica on March 22 introduced a temporary extension to fund transportation programs until June 30, to give the House time to rework his reauthorization bill.

The temporary extension would be the ninth in more than two years, necessitated by Congress’ failure to replace SAFETEA-LU, the last long-term transportation funding law.

SAFETEA-LU expired in September 2009. Without another extension or a reauthorization bill, the federal government would not have authority after April 1 to collect the fuel taxes that fund highway programs and public transit.

Sean McNally, spokesman for American Trucking Associations, said the House has made it clear it intends to wait until after April to address a long-term bill.

“So, we urge them to work with the Senate on a short-term extension of 60 or 90 days to bridge the gap and keep the pressure on lawmakers to complete a long-term bill,” McNally said.

The extension bill is “clean,” Mica said, meaning it does not contain the type of controversial provisions that led to a Federal Aviation Administration shutdown last summer when House members inserted labor provisions into an FAA bill the Senate refused to support.

However, Mica also said that his five-year reauthorization bill would continue to link energy policy to infrastructure spending by expanding oil drilling offshore and in the Alaska wilderness to pay for transportation.

Senate leaders have said the drilling provision could kill the bill. Likewise, the expanded drilling provision caused concern among House members from coastal states.

Mica told Transport Topics March 20 that, while there are some good things in the Senate bill, “Unfortunately, [the two-year approach] would bankrupt the Highway Trust Fund.”

He and Boehner still favor a long-term transportation bill, Mica said.

Despite speculation last week among transportation advocates and others that the Democrat-controlled Senate would refuse to pass another temporary extension, House and Senate Democrats have not said that.

However, last week their rhetoric edged closer to confrontation.

“If House Republican leaders prevent the Senate bill from reaching the president before the March 31st expiration of highway-program funding, Republicans will be responsible for devastating job losses across the nation,” the Democrats said in a statement when they introduced the Senate bill in the House.

And, to date, no extension bill has been introduced in the Senate.

At a press conference March 21, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who led the coalition that crafted the Senate bill, said, “Instead of passing our two-year bill, the House is considering a short-term stopgap measure, which would be disruptive and create uncertainty and instability for construction contracting.”

At a Rally for Roads gathering held March 20 on the National Mall in Washington by construction workers and contractors, Boxer said of the House members, “We did our job, and they should do theirs.”

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) told TT after the rally that House Republicans cannot, even with more time, come up with a reauthorization bill.

“They can’t even get their own members to vote for their own bill,” DeFazio said. “If they put the Senate bill up on the floor, I believe enough Republicans would join with a large majority of Democrats to pass it.”

Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), also spoke at the rally and said afterwards he does not expect his party to agree on a bill of its own.