Senate May Not Approve DOT Funds Until Next Week
With about 2,000 federal workers on continued furlough at key Department of Transportation agencies, the Senate may not pass a bill reinstating funding for them until next week, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The DOT furlough may also be ended if the House passes the Senate’s version of a jobs bill. That included an extension of the highway program until the end of the year as well as an infusion of nearly $20 billion into the Highway Trust Fund, and a vote on that is expected some time this week.
About $10 billion in funding is being held up by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who is blocking a larger measure to reinstate unemployment benefits that expired Sunday.
DOT agencies affected include the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — the main agency that regulates trucking — as well as the Federal Highway Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
The Senate could reinstate the funding by next week, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told Bloomberg.
The legislation would spend $81 billion to extend the unemployment benefits, extend subsidies to help jobless buy health insurance and send $25 billion to state governments to help prevent layoffs.
Bunning said he blocked the measure because costs would be tacked onto the $1.6 trillion budget deficit, Bloomberg reported.
