News » Political

Transportation bill could possibly be extended for 10th time

By WEEK Producer
June 13, 2012 Updated Jun 13, 2012 at 10:36 PM CDT

The U.S. Congress has just over two weeks to approve a new transportation bill for the nation.

That's because the June 30th deadline for a new transportation bill, or an extension of the current one is looming, and that could mean a halt to a lot of road projects.

In Washington the sounds of accusation were familiar.

"Today's radical republicans believe the more horrible the economy is the better off they are going to be in November," said Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic Majority Leader.

"Since the recession began for every government worker who has lost a job, 11 private sector jobs have been lost," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader.

Outside Capitol Hill, a short parade of construction equipment, some carrying Caterpillar machinery, in protest over inaction on a transportation bill.

There are as many as 3 million jobs at stake if Congress fails to act in some form before June 30th.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe, Congressman Aaron Schock talked about the apparently deadlock.

"The House passed a five year transportation bill, the Senate passed a two year bill," said Congressman Aaron Schock (R-18th).

The House five year transportation bill was never called for a vote. Schock backtracked later in Bloomington.

"The House passed a three month extension, and the Senate passed a two year version and there's a committee working out the differences," said Schock.

The House and Senate negotiators have been haggling for more than a month and have not begun to address the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

There could be an extension of the transport bill, and if there is, this will be the 10th time it has been extended.

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.