Senate fails to advance highway funding bill

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Senators failed to advance a six-year highway funding bill Tuesday, just 10 days before federal money for road, bridge and mass transit projects throughout the nation is set to run out.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he will keep the Senate in session this weekend, if necessary, to try again to pass the bill. Senators voted 41-56 to advance the bill, falling well short of the 60 votes needed.

McConnell announced earlier in the day that a bipartisan deal had been reached on the measure after days of negotiations between himself and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, the senior Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

But Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said senators needed more time to review the 1,030-page bill before deciding whether to allow it to move forward.

"I don't think it would be outrageous to ask for a bill to be read," Reid said. "I want to get it (a highway bill) done. But we need to look at this."

McConnell said he wants senators to vote again after having more time to study the legislation.

"We have a chance here to achieve a multi-year, bipartisan highway bill," he said. "If we can get this bill over to the House, it is my belief they will take this up ... We need to keep at it."

Reid said he didn't think there was "a chance in the world" that the House would take up the Senate bill before July 31, which means the Senate may be forced to pass a short-term extension.

The House voted last week to approve an $8 billion, five-month funding bill to keep the Highway Trust Fund going until Dec. 18. Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said House leaders need more time to reach agreement on a six-year bill funded with possible changes in the tax code for multinational corporations.

The Senate bill would authorize highway funding for six years but only provide enough money to keep the Highway Trust Fund going for three years. The next Congress would have to come up with more money to replenish the fund, which reimburses states for the cost of highway improvements and public transportation projects.

Supporters of the bill said it would be paid for with spending cuts or changes to other federal programs. The legislation, which would cost a total of about $50 billion over three years, would not raise any taxes.

Boxer said failing to pass a multiyear bill threatens construction jobs and the economy.

"We just can't keep doing these short-term extensions," Boxer said. "No one is going to fix a bridge that has multi-year costs if they know the money will run out in five or six months."

McConnell also said he doesn't want any more short-term fixes, which have been approved more than 30 times since 2009. However, it may be difficult for the Senate to convince the House to take up its legislation, especially with the July 31 deadline looming. Congress is scheduled to adjourn in August for its annual monthlong recess.

Congressional leaders generally oppose any increase in the gas tax, the primary source of federal highway funding. The government spends about $50 billion per year on transportation projects, but the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax only brings in about $34 billion and lawmakers — especially Republicans — are wary of angering voters by raising the tax.

States complain that the federal government's failure to pass a long-term funding bill has made it difficult for them to plan and build big highway projects because they are never sure whether there will be enough money in the trust fund to reimburse them. At least seven states have had to put road building on hold this summer because they can't count on federal dollars.

Follow @ErinVKelly on Twitter