Thune Would Back Three-Year House Highway Bill

Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune said he would support House Republicans if they proceed with legislation that would fund transportation programs for three years, if that meant not passing a short-term highway-funding fix next month.

“If that’s what they can get, three years is better than six months. … Whether they can pull that off remains to be seen,” Thune (R-S.D.) told Transport Topics on Sept. 17. “It would be a significant victory relative to where we are and considering the political atmosphere that surrounds highway funding.”

Thune added that House Republicans could use the Senate-passed six-year transportation bill that would keep highway programs funded for three years as a blueprint for their bill.

He added it would be “unfortunate” for Congress to have to pass a short-term highway funding fix if the House does not advance a road-funding measure by Oct. 29. That’s when current authority for highway funding expires.

Thune, who oversees trucking policy in the chamber, is among a cadre of transportation leaders in the Senate eager to see House Republicans take up a long-term highway bill.

Not to be outdone, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Senate transportation committee, recently called on transportation sector lobbyists to ramp up their efforts to get the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moving on a highway bill.

Boxer, along with transportation policy committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.), has repeatedly argued for the need to advance a multiyear road-funding package that is intended to ensure funding stability for states.

House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) continues to indicate his desire to mark up a multiyear bill before the Oct. 29 deadline. Getting his committee to compromise on high-profile provisions and linking the legislation to a funding source remain impediments to proceeding with the bill, he said.

Thune said he understands Shuster’s dilemma: “The House is now starting to back away a little bit from the aggressive schedule that they had set forward with regard to markup, and that’s not Shuster’s fault. Shuster wants to move.”

In the transportation community, virtually every group has asked Congress to approve legislation that keeps highway programs funded for multiple years. Addressing the tax-writing Ways and Means panel in the House earlier this year, American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said: “The consequences of failing to act are great, and we stand ready to support you in making the tough choice that lays ahead.”