Dueling Transportation Infrastructure Proposals Fail in the Senate

Environment and Public Works Committee to Markup Transportation Reauthorization Next Week Senate Democrat and Republican transportation infrastructure spending proposals failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to be considered for passage.  AGC urged Senators to set aside both proposals and focus on passing a multiyear transportation reauthorization bill, parts of which will be marked up  on Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the Environment and Public Works Committee. The Senate Democrats offered the infrastructure portion of President Obama’s “America’s Jobs Act,” which would have provided $27 billion for highways, $9 billion for transit, $4 billion for high-speed rail and $10 billion for a National Infrastructure Bank. The Republicans offered a two-year extension of the current surface transportation reauthorization along with several other proposals.  The Democrat proposal failed by a vote of 51-49. The Republican bill failed by a vote of 53-49.  Sixty votes were necessary to pass the bills in the Senate. Both bills failed in large part due to a growing bipartisan consensus that the Senate needs to push aside these partisan proposals and focus on a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization.  AGC sent letters to the Senate thanking both parties for their efforts in highlighting the need to invest in the national transportation system and encouraged them to work in a bipartisan manner to pass a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization.  To view the letters please click here and here. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neil at oneils@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.