President Bush signed legislation March 7 to extend federal highway programs until late April as House leaders debated how to proceed on reauthorization legislation.

Meanwhile, members of the Senate, which passed a six-year, $318 billion highway and transit bill Feb. 12 by a vote of 76-21, called for action by the House, to move to a House-Senate conference.

However, House leaders seemed reluctant to send President Bush a bill with a higher price tag than he wants; he has already threatened to veto the House and Senate versions on grounds they are too costly. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL, reportedly is seeking to find some compromise between the $318 billion Senate-passed level and the $270 billion level the Bush administration has insisted is “responsible.”

Several options were said to be under discussion:

• A six-year highway and transit bill, with funding only guaranteed for the first two years at a level of $90 billion, which would then be reopened following the fall elections;
• A six-year bill funded at $279 billion in guaranteed spending that would be a combination of obligation authority for highways and guaranteed general fund contributions for transit. That compares with a guaranteed level under the Senate bill, (S. 1072) of $296 billion, according to the March 4 Transportation Weekly.

Neither option is likely to be welcomed by the transportation industry, largely because it would force states to put large-scale transportation improvements “on hold” until they could be assured of longer-term levels of funding.

That would translate into the loss of at least 90,000 jobs, according to a survey done by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials this year, at a time when many parts of the country are experiencing unemployment rates exceeding 6 percent.

Enactment of a two-year bill is also problematic for the 435 members of the House who are facing re-election, since a two-year bill would likely not contain the range of projects lawmakers have sought in a reauthorization. It could likely be impossible to achieve the 95 percent rate of return donor states are seeking in reauthorization.

The President’s $256 billion reauthorization proposal would freeze highway and transit investment over six years, which would actually equate to a 11 percent reduction in funding when inflation is considered, AASHTO said.

By Dick Larsen, senior editor

Dick Larsen can be reached at dick_larsen@landlinemag.com.