Senate Moves Slowly on Transportation Bill While Path Forward in the House Remains Unclear

This week, the Senate began debate on MAP-21, the two-year $109 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill. Following that vote Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-NV) offered an amendment that is a complete substitute for the entire bill.  This substitute contains the titles of the bill from the Environment & Public Works, Finance, Banking and Commerce committees that had been previously agreed to as well as 37 amendments that have been agreed on by both parties.  The next step for the bill is to either have the Reid amendment agreed to by unanimous consent or have it pass a cloture vote (60 votes) which would limit debate and prohibit any further non-transportation amendments from being voted on.  There is still the potential for a long list of other amendments addressing issues such as funding levels for transit and devolution of the federal program to states. AGC is reviewing the amendments to ensure none are adopted that would have a negative impact on the construction industry. The House Republican leadership made it clear this week that they were considering all options necessary to pass a transportation reauthorization bill without any real support from Democrats.  One option included a condensed bill that maintained current funding levels and certain programmatic reforms found in H.R. 7, and also restored dedicated funding for transit from the Highway Trust Fund.  However, as recently as this afternoon, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) acknowledged that the best option for the program is a five-year transportation bill that shores up the trust fund.  In a meeting with industry stakeholders the Speaker said, “We ought to do this the right way. We’ve had five-year, six-year reauthorizations of the highway bill.  I think it’s important for the states and for those who want to invest in this arena to have a broad horizon so they know where they’re going and a five-year bill’s the best way to get there.” The House will not take up any transportation reauthorization bill next week.  Instead, they will continue to find a path forward to find the necessary votes – 218 – to pass a bill.  While the situation in the House remains very fluid, AGC continues to press for action on a reauthorization bill prior to the March 31 deadline. Thank you to all AGC members who have sent over 4,000 emails to their senators and representatives about this legislation. As this process inches forward, it is important to stay in contact with your congressional delegation. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org or Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.