Transport bill clears Senate, heads for House
Written by Douglas John BowenStripped of Republican provisions attacking Obama Administration energy and environmental policies, a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill passed the Senate Wednesday. An agreement between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave the bill 14 more votes than the 60 needed for passage.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), noting that House Republicans had failed to muster enough votes for their own costlier and more restrictive bill, has said the House will take up the Senate version. Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood expressed concern that the House might not make such a move.
A bill needs to be enacted by March 31 to continue funding of more than 100,000 highway, rail, and other transportation construction projects nationwide.
The Speaker’s move is believed to have given the bill enough bipartisan support to send it to the White House.
In a statement, APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy said, “On behalf of the 1,500 members of the American Public Transportation Association and the tens of millions of Americans who ride public transit every day, I congratulate the U.S. Senate for passing S. 1813— the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21 Act)—with a resounding bipartisan vote of 74-22. This bill funds both public transportation and highways and extends the dedicated motor fuels taxes that support these transportation programs.”
The “bipartisan approach helped set a path forward for this bill that not only provides a greater degree of funding certainty for states, it also establishes reforms that will streamline project delivery, consolidate programs, and improve performance reporting and accountability,” said American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Executive Director John Horsley in a statement.
