Senate to Take Up Highway Funding Bill; Will Consider 4 Amendments Before Vote

This story appears in the July 28 print edition of Transport Topics.

Senate leaders reached an agreement July 23 on how to proceed with a highway-funding bill, setting up floor votes on the legislation as early as July 29, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.

According to the agreement, four amendments will be considered before senators are allowed to vote on passage of a House-passed bill that would approve nearly $11 billion to shore up the Highway Trust Fund through the end of May.

The first amendment, sponsored by Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), proposes to scale back on the pension-smoothing source of funding in the House bill.

The next amendment, offered by a group led by Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), would change the expiration of the bill from May 2015 to December 2014. Senior Democrats have indicated they want a shorter funding window as an incentive to force colleagues to approve a long-term highway bill before the start of the next Congress in 2015.

“The time for Congress to act is now, and I stand ready to work with any member who understands the importance of passing a long-term transportation plan. It’s what our states, cities and businesses are asking for, and it’s what they deserve,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee and a co-sponsor of the Boxer amendment.

An amendment by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) would reduce the federal gas tax from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents over a five-year period and grant most highway spending authority to the states.

A final amendment offered by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) would speed up infrastructure rebuilding projects after natural disasters.

Sixty votes are required for amendments to be adopted. Passage of the bill also would require 60 votes. The House bill passed earlier this month by a 367-55 vote.

If senators adopt any amendments and thus change the bill, they would have to negotiate with House transportation leaders in order to produce a final bill. If the amendments are not adopted and the Senate passes the House bill as is, the legislation would advance to the White House for the president’s signature just days before a transportation-funding shortfall.

Though President Obama has called for a long-term bill, he has said he would sign the House bill. According to the Department of Transportation, the trust fund is poised to run out of money next month, when Congress leaves Washington for its recess. States depend on the fund to help cover the costs of transportation projects. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has warned many times that an insolvent trust fund would prompt DOT to reduce reimbursements to the states.

Nearly every major transportation organization has called on Congress to shore up the fund before August. American Trucking Associations on July 23 said it backs a proposal to provide a trust fund patch through December in order to pass a long-term highway bill.

“Moving from one funding crisis to another will force states to cancel or delay even more crucial highway projects, putting jobs and the economy at risk,” ATA President Bill Graves said. “The December deadline provides the cushion needed to avert near-term funding interruptions for states and provides ample time for lawmakers to resolve the long-term challenge facing the trust fund.”