Major differences between House, Senate transpo bills

Still much to work on

Matt Dietrichson, Jan 31, 12.

With major differences existing between House and Senate versions, congress still has ample work to do before a long-term surface transportation bill is signed, according to Pollitico:

With two months remaining to get a long-term surface transportation bill done, the House and Senate are racing this week to mark up several portions of their dueling legislation. And though the process is just beginning, there are already major rifts between the chambers.

Lawmakers are playing up the similarities in public — the annual funding levels are close enough, they say — and transportation leaders continue to express cautious optimism. But when pressed, senators and representatives are unhappy with a number of major differences, including how the bills are paid for and how long they last.

The differences mean that while everyone POLITICO spoke with — whether in Congress, the administration, lobbyists or transportation advocates — thinks the opportunity to get a surface transportation bill signed by the president is a real one after more than 850 days of stopgaps, there’s still plenty of opportunity for things to go awry.

A number of markups start this week on Capitol Hill, with the Senate pushing a two-year, $109 billion effort and the House bill expected to clock in at five years and $260 billion. And that’s before you get to the policy differences, like the GOP effort to use oil-drilling revenue to pay for part of it.

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