With a 90 day extension of the current transportation authorization law already in place, the House has passed a bill that would add a additional 90 days and sets the stage for a conference committee with the Senate on their own recently passed two year bill.

The House extension however also contains a poison pill to the Obama administration, mandating construction of the controversial Keystone pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

Recall that the Senate has passed a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill with bipartisan support, but House Republican leaders oppose it because it does not contain their reforms for highway programs. Speaker Boehner and House Republicans also want to link revenues from expanded domestic energy production to infrastructure spending.

Members are urged to speak with their congressional representatives about the need for a long term solution that will help to bring certainity to decisions being made at the local level on transportation and infrastructure projects.  CCC congressional update_transportationture update.doc (142.00 kb)

Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Federal Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail