Republican lawmakers and the White House on Thursday April 29 were unable to come up with a dollar total for a much-delayed highway and transit bill touted as the biggest jobs and economic stimulus legislation Congress will consider this year.
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Seattle Times, April 29, 2004
The US House of Representatives voted yesterday (April 28) to keep federal highway programs running for two months while Republican leaders try to overcome White House resistance to a new bill that would significantly increase federal aid for the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
“This is an embarrassing time for members of the Transportation Committee,” said Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, a committee member. “A bill that is supposed to improve traffic is now stuck in traffic.”
The House voted 410-0 for the two-month extension of the 1998-2003 highway and transit spending bill, and the Senate is expected to follow suit before spending authority expires tomorrow.
This would be the third extension of the six-year, $218 billion program that first expired in September. Since then, the Transportation Committee unsuccessfully pushed a $375 billion bill for the 2004-2009 period and the Senate passed a $318 billion bill. The House overwhelmingly passed a $275 billion bill this month.
But that version failed to pass muster with the White House, which has cited the need for fiscal discipline in a period of mounting budget deficits and has threatened a presidential veto of any legislation that exceeds $256 billion.
The city of Brownsville will ask the state transportation department for $3.8 million to help build a planned bus station. The grant would help fund a $9.1 million multimodal transportation terminal in the city.
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A coalition of area communities dedicated to improving public transportation and air quality in Tarrant County appears to be gaining momentum.
Watauga and Richland Hills are poised to be the latest cities to join the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition, a lobbying group that will seek state and federal money for the western half of the Metroplex. Bedford, Keller, Hurst, North Richland Hills and Southlake have already joined.
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The Denton County Transportation Authority on Wednesday hired its first executive director, whom board members described as a seasoned veteran in mass transit.
John Hedrick, currently capital facilities coordinator for VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, is scheduled to begin working for the Denton County authority May 10.
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The American Public Transportation Association (”APTA”:http://www.apta.com/) reports that while Congress returned from its recess this week, progress towards a conference on the House and Senate reauthorization bills did not take place. Latest indications are that Congressional Leadership and the White House have agreed to go to conference only after agreement is reached on an overall acceptable funding level. As this has not yet occurred and with the current short-term extension of TEA 21 expiring April 30, Congress is expected to pass a third extension that will likely continue the federal transit programs for two months.
