After months of wrangling, lawmakers earlier this month appeared on the verge of compromise for a long-term plan for funding the nation’s highway and transit projects when the Democrat-controlled Senate passed its transportation bill. But the Republican-led House of Representatives balked at the plan, and officials opted for a three-month extension of the current bill. It’s the ninth such extension since the current transportation bill expired in September 2009.
“There is certainly frustration on this whole negotiation,” said Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona. “I want to get a bill done.”
The delay in a long-term bill will eventually mean future projects will sit waiting for Washington to make a decision. With a presidential election on the horizon, the window for passing a bill is slowly closing.
“If it gets much past June, you start getting into more difficult terrain,” Calvert said.
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