WASHINGTON - House lawmakers yesterday easily approved a bill that would extend funding for highways and other surface transportation by three months, after some controversy, as well as a measure to extend funding for airports for the same period of time.
The lawmakers voted 335 to 85 to approve the three-month extension of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, after opposition from Republicans threatened to delay or derail the vote.
The bill, which was introduced by House Transportation Committee chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn. late Tuesday, was scheduled to come up for a vote under a suspension of the rules. The law is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. But the vote was delayed after Republicans strongly opposed the suspension of the rules and unsuccessfully pushed for adjournment for the day before the vote on the bill.
Rep. John Mica, the top Republican on the committee, said during debate on the House floor that the Republicans wanted to be able to express their views on the bill. But a number of Republicans were pushing for the longer, 18-month extension that has been pushed by the Obama administration and approved by three Senate committees.
The law is scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
An extension of SAFETEA-LU would basically prevent a jarring interruption in funding to states and metropolitan areas for transportation infrastructure projects until Congress approves a multi-year reauthorization bill to fully replace the law.
However, the extension would not prevent the U.S. Department of Transportation from rescinding about $8.7 billion of contract authority that remains unobligated by the end of this month.
Oberstar had said in an interview Monday that this extension bill would not be the first of many and that he would not support further delays.
The 68-page SAFETEA-LU extension bill was cosponsored by three key members of the House Ways and Means Committee: chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., oversight panel chairman John Lewis, D-Ga., and select revenue measures panel chairman Richard E. Neal, D-Mass.
Meanwhile, the House yesterday approved a bill to extend the airport trust fund law through the end of the year. The bill would allow airports to continue collecting revenues from passenger facilities charges of up to $4.50, which they often use to back bonds. It also would continue the airport improvement program that provides airports with grants for capital projects. The law that the bill would extend originally was scheduled to expire two years ago, but has been extended several times.
