CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
June 8, 2012 – 10:21 p.m.
Highway Talks Searching for a Deal
By Nathan Hurst, CQ Staff
With Senate and House leaders saying time is running short, highway bill negotiators expect to get another counteroffer from the Senate early this week.
Highway conference Chairwoman
“He wants to move the process, let people know that . . . time is running out, the options are short,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman
Boehner issued his warning at the time the House answered an earlier Senate proposal. Mica, the Florida Republican who is leading House conferees, said June 8 that the House’s recess this week shouldn’t impede momentum. Conferees should expect to keep in contact by phone as the Senate returns counteroffers, he said.
The Senate’s initial offer — hand-delivered to Mica’s office June 5 by Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the panel’s ranking Republican,
House negotiators have hoped to include at least some of the major policy provisions included in the five-year, $260 billion highway bill (
The House counteroffer included language that would allow states to opt out of the transportation enhancements program, which sets aside a portion of Highway Trust Fund grants to states for such projects as bicycle lanes, pedestrian paths and roadside beautification, aides said.
The original House bill would have eliminated the program, while the Senate bill (
By the end of last week, House aides continued to pore through other areas of the Senate offer, including safety provisions and research programs. The Senate bill generally included stronger highway safety language than the House bill.
One development, viewed by leaders as positive, was the June 8 defeat of a motion by Rep.
“America is broke, and we have to stop this deficit spending,” Broun said during the debate on his motion June 7, after referencing transfers from the General Fund to the highway fund in recent years to keep up with spending.
The motion was defeated, 82-323, signaling that House Republicans weren’t likely to kill a conference report that requires additional budget offsets to supplement the Highway Trust Fund — although the vote also shows that House leaders are likely to need Democratic votes.
That may give Boxer and her Senate colleagues more leverage as they press ahead with negotiations.
Highway Talks Searching for a Deal
“This bipartisan vote sends a strong signal to the transportation conference committee that we should reach agreement swiftly,” Boxer said in a written statement issued just hours after President Obama said he wanted Congress to “get into serious discussions quickly” to wrap up work on the bill.
Anne L. Kim contributed to this story.