The future of a long-term transportation bill became a bit brighter after Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Barbara Boxer (D-California) announced they had agreed in principle to a bipartisan a six-year transportation bill that aims to provide the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) with guaranteed funding for three years.
However, in awkward procedural efforts, a vote on the 1,030-page H.R. 22 (DRIVE Act) will be delayed to allow members of the Senate more time to review the details. Yesterday afternoon, a scant couple of hours after receiving the text of the bill, the Senate voted 56 to 41 against the motion to invoke cloture on the motions to proceed.
“We need the opportunity to look at this bill,” Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said after the cloture vote. “We just want to be able to read and discuss this bill tomorrow in a private meeting.” Reid added that he wants to do everything he can to move forward on a long-term bill, but that the Senate was “not going to lurch into legislation without reading it in detail.” Reid also said he wants to get reports from the committees of jurisdiction, such as commerce and banking.
“That fact that it hasn’t been online long is a good point,” McConnell said. But, the Senate Majority Leader threatened a weekend vote on the matter to get it through. “Imagine getting a bill . . . to the president’s desk before August. That’s something we could all be proud of. We need to keep at it.”
“We have an agreement in principle,” Boxer had said of the agreement. “I believe it’s a breakthrough. I’ve been negotiating in good faith . . . for a long-term, robust bill.”
