Highways, Bridges and Roads

The Democratic chairwoman of the committee of lawmakers that has conferenced on new transportation bill for two months said Wednesday that the apparent agreement between the House and Senate on the measure was "a victory for the middle class, for business, and for the environment.

“I am so glad that House Republicans met Democrats halfway, as Senate Republicans did months ago," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said in a statement released by her office.
 
“The bill is funded at current levels, and it will protect and create three million jobs," she said. "This job creation is the critical focus of Democrats, because we know that the unemployment rate in construction is at an unacceptable level."

House Speaker Boehner said the deal would also include a one-year extension of current student loan interest rates.

A Senate GOP aide cautioned that “nothing is final until Boehner gets a firm count in his caucus. “

Boehner struck an optimistic tone, signaling the House GOP is tentatively on board with Reid and McConnell’s student-loan deal.

The National Rifle Association is siding with environmentalists in a fight over money for land and water conservation that activists are lobbying to keep in a final compromise on a new surface transportation bill.

In a letter to members of the 47-member committee that has been conferencing on a possible House-Senate transportation funding deal, the normally conservative NRA called for Congress to keep a provision in the Senate's version of the transportation bill that provides money for the land and water conservation trust fund until September of 2013.

"The Senate version of the transportation act of 2012 includes authorization and funding for a key bipartisan provision important to our members, 'Making Public Lands Public,' " NRA Director of Federal Affairs James Baker said in a letter to the conference committee that was obtained by The Hill from a Democratic source.

"MPLP would improve access for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities on public lands, as well as create significant economic activity in local communities," Baker continued.  "Participation in hunting, fishing and recreational activities faces serious challenges, in part due to the lack of access to public lands. Improving access will increase participation in these activities by opening hundreds of thousands of acres of currently inaccessible public lands."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Transportation 4 America has reset its clock counting the days since Congress last passed a transportation bill after it reached 1,000.

A passenger at Orlando's Sanford International Airport said his grandfather's ashes were spilled during an inspection by the Transportation Security Administration.

More than 42 million people are expected to travel for the Fourth of July holiday.

South Florida commuter rail system Tri-Rail saw a ridership spike during the Miami Heat's NBA Championship parade.

The House and Senate meet with just three weekdays left to reach a deal on a highway bill and a bill extending the low interest rate on federally backed student loans.

Senators indicated on Tuesday that they are close to an agreement in the upper chamber on a student loan bill, and that they might prefer combining the two bills to get them done quickly this week.

Passing the two high-profile bills could be the final burst of major legislative activity before the 2012 elections.

The House late Tuesday rejected a Democratic proposal to instruct the House to accept the Senate's highway bill.

House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) raised the motion last week, when it was debated, but it was expected to fail given House GOP opposition to the Senate bill. The House turned away Hoyer's motion to instruct by a 172-225 vote.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler complained House Dems have been "shut out" of the bicameral talks over passing a highway spending bill.