Federal funding could come to a screeching halt as early as this weekend if Congress cannot reach a compromise about the highway bill’s overall expense and how it should be funded. Party leaders assure the public they will not let the bill expire. Failure to pass a new version, or extend the current option, will jeopardize thousands of highway, road and bridge projects across the U.S.
President Barack Obama is also pushing for a solution, and says the two sides must reach an agreement by the June 30 deadline to “ensure continued funding for the hard-hit construction industry and sluggish economic recovery.”
Both sides are eager to reach an agreement so as not to be responsible for stalling in-progress projects, or increasing unemployment. Earlier in the year, the Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion version of the bill, but House Republicans took issue with some of the fine print matters and submitted their own five-year, $260 billion plan for consideration. Neither proposal was accepted, and instead a three-month extension was applied to the current bill.
President Obama says it is up to the Republicans to put aside their differences and accept the Senate’s initial proposal that garnered support from nearly 75 percent of the chamber, including 22 Republicans.
Those against the Senate’s proposal say they are waiting to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used for “legitimate” projects, and not being wasted on “beautification” tasks.
If a compromise is not reached by Saturday’s deadline, a potential alternative would be a six-month extension that would shelf the issue until after the November presidential election.