Legislative Bulletin - September 24, 2009

U.S. House of Representatives Passes 3 Month Highway Bill Extension

The U.S. House of Representatives approved by a vote of 335-85 a three month extension of the current highway authorization bill late yesterday, September 23, 2009. The current program, known as SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users), is due to expire on September 30, 2009. The extension approved by the House would extend funding for three months for programs funded out of the highway trust fund, but would not make any policy changes or authorize new projects.

On July 15th, 2009, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee passed an 18 month extension of the current authorization and that bill is pending in the Senate. Before consideration by the full Senate, other committees with jurisdiction over surface transportation must also pass spending authorization extensions. While the EPW Committee has jurisdiction over bridges and highways, the Senate Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over safety, motor carriers and freight transportation and the Senate Banking Committee has jurisdiction over public transit. Once the extension passed those committees, it would be voted on by the full Senate.

The Obama administration and Senate leaders have publicly stated they support an 18 month extension of the current highway program. The House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) had been pushing for passage of a six year, $500 million authorization before the current program expires, rather than passage of an extension. With the House passage of the three month extension and the 18 month extension pending in the Senate, Congress will have to reach a final agreement on the length of the extension before the September 30th deadline.

An extension of SAFETEA-LU would mean no policy changes would occur until that extension expires. Authorization of a new highway program could mean changes in funding mechanisms or new mandates, such as Electronic On Board Recorders (EOBRs) for motor carriers. For questions about the federal highway program, please contact TRALA’s Tom James at tjames@trala.org or (703) 299-9120.

Warning: include(/includes/footer.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/8/0/0/5951/5951/public_html/news/Legislative Bulletins/09-24-2009.php on line 15

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/includes/footer.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php:/usr/share/pear:/home/8/0/0/5951/5951/public_html:') in /home/8/0/0/5951/5951/public_html/news/Legislative Bulletins/09-24-2009.php on line 15