U.S. lawmakers announced a bipartisan Senate transportation bill that they said would provide three years of funding for America’s highways, bridges and rail systems. The legislation, the first multi-year highway bill in a decade, is expected to dominate Senate deliberations over the next several days as lawmakers work against a July 31 deadline to keep a national highway trust fund from running out of money.
Details of the bill were not immediately available. But Republicans and Democrats described the agreement as a political breakthrough reached after months of negotiations. “Both parties know that a long-term highway bill is in the best interest of our country. So we’ll continue working together to get a good one passed,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “I’m hopeful we will.” The agreement was the clearest sign yet of the Senate’s determination to secure long-term infrastructure funding for roads, bridges and railways, after a similar effort in the House of Representatives failed last week. The House instead produced an $8.1 billion plan to fund infrastructure projects, but only through the end of 2015. [ID: L2N0ZU041] “I believe it is a breakthrough,” said Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who led Democrats in negotiating the legislative package. Other Democrats including Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid voiced more cautious support for the legislation, saying the wanted to read the bill first. “I’m inclined to favor it, but I want to see it in writing,” said Senator Richard Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat. “For those who say three years is not enough, I think it’s been 10 years since we’ve had anything that long. So, it’s a step forward,” he added. But aides said the bill’s future could be clouded by controversial floor amendments including potential Republican measures to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood and to do away with Obamacare. Democrats, meanwhile, could try to add in auto-safety provisions rejected by the Senate Commerce Committee. Democrats and moderate Republicans are also expected to add an amendment to reopen the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which has been closed to new business since its charter expired on June 30.