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The week ahead: Decision time nears on highway spending bill
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06/25/12 09:00 AM ET
Negotiations in Congress about a new transportation spending bill are entering their final week, with both sides having something to gain and plenty to lose.
With the outcome of negotiations between staff members in the House and Senate over the weekend yet unclear, the week will end with either a bicameral compromise or a 10th extension of the transportation bill that was supposed to expire in 2009.
If there is not enough movement for lawmakers to announce an agreement by Monday or Tuesday, the theory goes, the months-long negotiations will have to culminate in yet another temporary extension.
Issues like the House's push to include a mandate forcing the Obama administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline remain outstanding, but leaders in both parties said the bicameral talks were going better than they were at the beginning of last week.
"I don't think we'll need an extension. I hope not," Reid said during a news conference at the Capitol. "I can't guarantee anyone here we're going to get a highway bill, but we're certainly in a lot better shape than we were 24 hours ago."
"I met with the the Republican conferees [Thursday] on the highway bill. They've been heavily engaged. And clearly there's some movement that's been under way since the meeting I had with Sen. Reid and Sen. [Barbara] Boxer [D-Calif.]," Boehner said in a press conference of his own.
If lawmakers do not at least pass an extension by June 30, the federal government's ability to spend money on transportation projects will expire. The transportation legislation also contains the government's authorization to collect the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax that is traditionally used to fund road and transit projects.
