Transportation Funding Bill Debated : States to Take Control

Congressional Conservatives are stepping up the heat to stop the insane spending from the federal government and returning it to the states where the people will have more control. Make sense, Right?

Transportation and Highway Funding (National Center for Political Analysis

Congress spent much of the week deliberating a $260 billion, five-year transportation bill. The bill has been stalled in the House of Representatives for more than a month because conservatives oppose the use of general treasury funds to pay for highway construction.

For decades, federal highway construction has been financed with taxes collected at the fuel pump. But the proliferation of fuel-efficient vehicles has decreased revenue going into the Highway Trust Fund, prompting Congress to consider dipping into the general treasury for highway construction projects.

Conservative Republicans oppose this move, which has created a logjam in the legislative process. In an unusual move, Speaker Boehner removed Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-FL) from the process and gave the bill’s responsibility to Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA). The House is in recess until March 19, after which they will resume consideration of the transportation bill.

For their part, the Senate decided to debate a smaller-scale $109 billion, two-year plan that doesn’t rely on general revenue. One of the amendments to the Senate bill would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline over the President’s objection, but the amendment failed by a vote of 56-42 (the Senate needed 60 votes to pass the amendment). Senate debate on the transportation bill will continue next week.