Highway Bill Could See House Floor Action Next Week
The House could take up a six-year highway reauthorization bill as early as next week, senior Republican aides told Transport Topics on Oct. 28.
The bill, which would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make “corrective actions” to the agency’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program that scores motor carriers for their safety, was reported to the floor by the Transportation and Infrastructure panel Oct. 22.
On Oct. 27, the full House passed a measure that would extend highway funding authority through Nov. 20. Such authority expires Oct. 29. Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said that November date will prompt his fellow transportation leaders to finalize a multiyear highway bill before the Thanksgiving break.
“Last week, the Transportation committee unanimously approved bipartisan, multiyear surface transportation legislation, and today’s [short-term extension] will ensure that states can continue to fund transportation projects while Congress continues to make progress on the multiyear bill,” Shuster said, Oct. 27.
This week, the newspaper Politico reported that T&I ranking Democrat, Peter DeFazio of Oregon, said he is confident the highway reathorizing legislation will get floor action next week. The office of the House Majority Leader is charged with formally announcing when a bill has been scheduled for a floor vote. In July, the Senate advanced its version.
