Oberstar Says No Extension for Highway Bill

A key member of the House of Representatives is putting pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to speed the next surface transportation bill into law.

The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee told Congressional Quarterly this week he will not accept an extension of the current highway bill, which expires Sept. 30.

Beyond that deadline, “it all dies,” Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said in an interview with CQ.

That means states would lose federal funds they depend on for infrastructure projects and transportation operations.

The last highway bill was passed in 2005 — two years late — after the previous bill was extended 12 times.

Oberstar spoke to CQ as reauthorization of the surface transportation bill shifts into higher gear. In the past few weeks, members of Congress, administration officials and advocacy groups of all stripes have rushed to put their stamp on the legislation.

Oberstar’s committee is working on a bill that he plans to introduce this month that could include as much as $450 billion in funding for surface transportation.

In the Senate, John D. Rockefeller, D-W. Va., and Frank Lautenburg, D-N.J., last month introduced Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act. The bill doesn’t address funding, but sets broad policy goals for the Department of Transportation.

Oberstar told The Journal of Commerce earlier this year that he wants to use the next highway bill to reorganize the DOT.

The Bipartisan Policy Center will make release its framework for the next transportation bill next week, when its National Transportation Policy Project issues its final report.

The next highway bill will have to find a more permanent funding solution for the Highway Trust Fund, which may run out of money as early as August.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., this week said the fund may need as much as $7 billion from the general treasury fund to remain solvent.

Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.