Facing a July 31 deadline to get something done, The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an $8 billion measure to extend federal transportation funding into mid-December. The bill is set to go to the Senate, which is working on its own highway bill. The Hill reports that Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oka.) predicts senators will be able to quickly pass a long-term highway bill.
“I anticipate that we will have actually passed in the next few days … a long-term, maybe a six-year highway reauthorization bill,” says Inhofe, the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
The Senate version is expected to include an amendment to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has not ruled out filibustering a federal transportation-funding bill if it includes such an amendment. The Export-Import Bank finances overseas investments by U.S. companies.
