The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are expected to vote as early as next week on their long-awaited transportation reauthorization bills.
Both bills have cleared all the necessary committee hurdles and both call for more than $41 billion annually in highway spending.
The Senate’s $109 billion bill is a two-year bipartisan proposal that on Thursday survived a test vote of 85-11 on a measure that limits debate to 30 hours and prevents a filibuster of the bill.
The Senate bill also has the support of the Obama Administration.
In an effort to build bipartisan backing, from the start of their deliberations last year, the bill’s sponsors, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.), agreed not to include anything controversial in the measure.
The bill contains no new taxes, no changes to rail programs, and does not address truck weights or lengths, although it would mandate electronic onboard recorders for trucks.