President Obama has seen his poll numbers fall despite an improving national economy and the long GOP primary.

“I no longer share that view,” Chu said during a Senate hearing, adding that he wants to lower gas prices.

An amendment proposed by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on Tuesday to give states flexibility to allow commercialization of rest stops along the federal highway system was beat back by the Senate on Tuesday, 12-86.

The Senate roundly rejected another amendment, 30-68, on Tuesday that would have allowed states to opt out of the federal transportation program by allowing them to keep money collected for the gas tax.  

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pushed back the tail end of the vote-O-rama on amendments proposed to the pending highway bill until Wednesday in order to accommodate an event commemorating the engagement of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The Senate on Tuesday afternoon passed the following amendments to the pending transportation bill by unanimous consent:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is predicting that his chamber will provide final approval to its $109 billion transportation bill Tuesday.

The Senate was undertaking a series of votes Thursday on a package of amendments that had been agreed to by Democratic and Republican leaders in the upper chamber.

Speaking with reporters at the Capitol, Reid predicted the chamber would quickly move to final passage when the amendment votes were done.

"We hope we can pass the highway bill today," Reid said during an afternoon news conference. "As you've heard me say on a number of occasions, it's a bipartisan bill. It's a jobs bill in the true sense of the word."

The Senate on Tuesday rejected plans to extend a host of lapsed or soon-to-expire tax breaks for renewable fuels and power sources.

The Senate on Tuesday blocked an amendment to pending transportation legislation that would have mandated a huge expansion of offshore oil-and-gas leasing, opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and approved construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.