Inhofe: ‘We’re Going to Pass’ Long-Term Highway Bill This Year
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, the chamber’s top transportation authorizer, said sending the White House a long-term highway bill this fall is a major priority for his Senate colleagues and policy counterparts in the House.
“We’re going to go to conference, and we’re going to pass the thing,” Inhofe, the Senate's chairman of Environment and Public Works, told reporters Aug. 5, referring to the negotiations he anticipates will happen with House transportation leaders when they return to Washington after the August recess.
Inhofe on C-SPAN (12:53 to 14:39)
“If you look at this country, a fourth of our bridges are structurally deficient at this time, because we haven’t done anything for eight years. We’re going to now be able to pass the highway reauthorization bill. It’s a six-year bill,” Inhofe added.
Last week, the Senate passed a six-year transportation reauthorization measure that would limit regulations for certain trucking programs. The House adjourned for five weeks without taking up the Senate-passed bill. However, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), Inhofe’s counterpart in the lower chamber as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, praised the Senate on a multiyear transportation bill and indicated he would look to craft a long-term highway bill this fall.
Congress will have several weeks to approve a long-term highway bill before funding authority for highway programs expires Oct. 29. If lawmakers do not meet the October deadline, they will have to advance a short-term funding extension to keep highway programs authorized.
