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Negotiators Plan ‘Ambitious Schedule’
to Unveil Surface Transportation Bill Nov. 30

From AASHTO Journal Nov. 20, 2015:

House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster laid out what he said was "a very ambitious schedule" for the conference committee to be able to file a final version of a long-term surface transportation bill on Nov. 30.

Shuster, R-Pa., who is chairing the House-Senate negotiating committee, told the other panel members in its Nov. 18 public session that Congress needed one more short-term extension of Highway Trust Fund authority, from Nov. 20 through Dec. 4.

But he also said: "This is the last extension – let me put an exclamation point on that."

The House approved the two-week extension on Nov. 16, the Senate followed Nov. 19 and President Obama signed it into law Nov. 20 by autopen.

To get a final bill through both chambers and to the president's desk by Dec. 4, Shuster said the lawmakers on the committee needed to complete its negotiations over differences between the House- and Senate-passed measures by the end of the week before lawmakers would leave for a Thanksgiving week recess.

Then, with Congress on that holiday recess the next week, he said staff would complete work on the conference report document so the lawmakers could present it publicly when they return to Capitol Hill on Nov. 30.

Shuster said that would give both chambers time to debate and vote on the final version before the Dec. 4 extension would expire. "Procedurally, this barely gives us – the House – enough time to pass the conference report and get it to the president by Dec. 4," he said.

It was not clear how whether negotiators would be able to keep to that schedule.

Politico reported that Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who co-chairs the conference committee, predicted a "big announcement" coming on Nov. 20 – the last day before Congress would start its recess – which was expected to be a broad agreement on the bill's length, funding levels and how to pay for it. But such an accord was still pending at press time.

Politico had said in its Nov. 19 "Morning Transportation" newsletter that Shuster was still insisting on keeping the six-year authorization length from the House bill.

Meanwhile, it said, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, was siding with Senate leaders and some transportation industry groups seeking a somewhat shorter bill that would provide more funding per year.

And The Hill newspaper reported groups and lawmakers were jockeying over a range of other issues including truck safety and renewal of the Export-Import Bank.

The National Governors Association wrote conference leaders on Nov. 17 urging them "to adopt a conference report that provides for the longest term at the highest funding level possible."

That letter covered a range of issues and was signed by Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Earl Ray Tomblin of West Virginia. "States need federal funding certainty to pursue long-term highway and public transportation projects," they wrote.

The Americans for Transportation Mobility Coalition on Nov. 13 urged conferees to "fund highway and public transit programs at the highest possible levels for the longest duration possible."

And on Nov. 18 the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sent a letter to House and Senate leaders stressing the importance of authorizing the federal programs "at or beyond current funding levels and providing resources necessary to support the Highway Trust Fund for at least five years."

By doing that, wrote AASHTO Executive Director Bud Wright, "Congress can finally end the cycle of numerous short-term extensions and the resulting casualty of cancelled projects, lost jobs and forgone opportunities to significantly improve the economy and quality of life nationwide."

If the conference committee's schedule slips as members negotiate, the panel would need to file a final report no later than Dec. 2 to avoid yet another extension past Dec. 4. House procedures require that members have 48 hours to view legislation before voting on it.