Baucus to Pitch Plan to Plug Senate Transport Bill Shorftfall

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is expected to propose Tuesday a plan to plug the majority of the $12 billion shortfall in the Senate’s two-year surface transportation bill.

Part of the $9.6 billion in additional funding for the $109 billion bill will come through transfer of a $3 billion surplus from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund and removing a tax credit on certain biofuels, according to a statement released late Friday by Baucus’s office.

Baucus's office said committee staff is reviewing other budget offsets, but they have not been discussed with other members of the committee.

Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobinWash.