DALLAS — The House adopted a 10-month, $10.8 billion short-term fix of the Highway Trust Fund that would keep federal transportation dollars flowing through May 2015.
The measure passed Tuesday afternoon by the lopsided majority of 367-55 after members quashed attempts by a group of Democrats led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to shorten the extension and to kill the bill by sending it back to committee for reconsideration.
The Senate Finance Committee adopted a similar short-term measure bill last week, but it contains tax compliance and modernization provisions opposed by House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said the Senate will consider both the House plan and the bill approved by the finance committee, as well as an amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that would set a Dec. 31, 2014 deadline for the extension.
Both proposals for a quick fix would transfer to the highway fund $9.8 billion of general revenues and another $1 billion from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.
The move of almost $10 billion of general fund revenues would be offset over 10 years with $3.5 billion by extending for one year some custom fees that were to expire in 2023, and more than $6.3 billion from corporate pension smoothing, which increases employers' taxable income.
The bill pending in the Senate, sponsored by finance committee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. does not contain a deadline and would reduce the expected revenue from the pension smoothing and customs user fees, while increasing collections with stricter enforcement of some existing income tax regulations.
Even if Congress quickly puts into place a short-term patch that extends the current highway bill into spring 2015, the White House said a long-term solution to close the highway fund's structural funding imbalance should be accomplished as soon as possible.
"This legislation does not address the continued need to pass a long-term authorization bill that creates jobs and provides certainty for cities, states, and businesses" the Office of Management and Budget said in a said in a Statement of Administration Policy. "Congress should work to pass a long-term authorization bill well before the expiration date set forth in H.R. 5021."
The president's $302 billion, four-year Grow America Act should be Congress's blueprint for a multi-year, fully funded transportation bill, OMB officials said.
"That proposal is fully paid for through existing revenues and by reforming business taxes to help create jobs and spur investment while eliminating loopholes that reward companies for moving profits overseas," it said.
Administration officials said Monday night that the administration supported the House proposal.
"This legislation would provide for continuity of funding for the Highway Trust Fund during the height of the summer construction season and keep Americans at work repairing the nation's crumbling roads, bridges, and transit systems," OMB said.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the administration's endorsement of the House plan shows Obama's willingness to work with Republicans.
"I think that is prima facie evidence that this president is willing to work across the aisle to get things done that benefits the economy and middle-class families," he said.
The House bailout bill is co-sponsored by Camp and Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Conservative groups Heritage Foundation and Club for Growth urged House members to vote against the short-term fix and instead focus on giving the states responsibility for transportation spending.
"The bill would offset the additional spending over the next decade through a series of revenue raisers, budget gimmicks and budget transfers," the Heritage Foundation said its 'no' recommendation.
"An inability to control spending combined with costly regulations that inflate the cost of projects has rendered the Highway Trust Fund model functionally obsolete," the group said.
The National Association of Manufacturers, which supports the short-term fix, said it will be keeping track of how lawmakers voted on the House bill.
"Manufacturers need stable and reliable infrastructure to thrive and compete in today's economy," the NAM said.
