Meet with Reps. Next Week
This week there were encouraging reports out of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee that they plan to finalize and move their long-term highway & transit bill before the end of October. Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Ranking Democrat Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) met today to continue negotiations with the goal of announcing a mark-up the week of Oct. 26. It is unclear what funding levels the House bill will provide, due in large part to the breakdown in negotiations last week between Ways & Means Chairman Paul Ryan and Senator Charles Schumer, who had been negotiating a bipartisan compromise on how U.S. corporations are taxed on their overseas assets and using that revenue to fund a transportation bill.
Although there seems to be more clarity on when the House will mark up their bill, the fact remains that the current extension of federal highway and transit program expires on Oct. 29 and it appears that another extension will be necessary in order for the full House to consider a bill and for differences to be resolved with Senate, who passed the DRIVE Act in July.
It is imperative that the House move their bill and start negotiations with the Senate as soon as possible. AGC members need to use the upcoming Columbus Day recess to contact and meet with their representative and encourage them to move as quickly as possible in passing a transportation bill. For more information visit Hardhats for Highways.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.