U.S. Senate OKs Highway And VA Bill, Work With House On Long-term Road Bill

A short-term highway bill drew the support Thursday of 91 U.S. Senators, including Arkansas’ Republican U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton. The Senate voted 91-4 Thursday to approve HR 3236, one day after the House overwhelmingly approved the bill.

The House voted 385-34, with one present, Wednesday on the highway bill (H.R. 3236) and 256-170 on the VA bill (H.R. 1994). U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, French Hill, R-Little Rock, Steve Womack, R-Rogers, and Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, voted yes on both bills.

Boozman said the long-term bill provides a proverbial roadmap for transportation funding.

“The DRIVE Act revamps federal highway programs and makes sure revenue that is supposed to go to infrastructure is returned to the states to build and repair roads and bridges. It saves money by providing a steady and reliable framework for project planning. It will create immediate jobs and produce decades of economic opportunity for communities,” Boozman said in a statement. “The House has pledged to take up a long-term bill when members return and I am committed to working with them to ensure the core of the DRIVE Act is included in the final product.”

Congress has been stalled for more than a year on a new long-term plan for national highway funding. Arkansas has delayed 75 road projects – including more than 11 in the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas areas – valued at $335 million because of uncertain federal funds.

Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD), said during a June 24 meeting of the Working Group for Highway Funding that Arkansas’ road system faces a $16.8 billion shortfall over the next 10 years, with $20.4 billion in highway needs but only $3.6 billion in projected revenues. Those needs include $6.25 billion that could be spent on I-49, I-69 and I-55.

As for the long-term bill, the House and Senate will head to conference to iron out differences in their bills. HR 3236 sets an Oct. 29, 2015 deadline to get a bill approved.

Boozman said the long-term bill will help create a solution to the issue.

“Arkansas and other states cannot and should not have to rely on short-term funding that fails to provide certainty for important infrastructure improvements. I am confident that we can come to an agreement to pass a long-term solution in the coming months,” Boozman said.

The votes Thursday also drew comments from American Trucking Association president Bill Graves.

“The American Trucking Associations congratulates the Senate on passage of a highway reauthorization bill that represents a significant step toward addressing our nation’s transportation infrastructure needs,” Graves said. “We now look forward to working with the House of Representatives to pass a well-funded bill that provides sufficient revenue for at least six years, with the goal of moving a bill out of a House-Senate conference committee before the next expiration. Passage of a long-term bill is well overdue, and it is past time for Congress to provide states with the certainty they need to address the enormous backlog in critical highway and bridge improvements.”

Graves also said the bill includes a provision that equalizes the tax rates on liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas with the rates on diesel and gasoline in their 90-day Highway Trust Fund extension.

“By equalizing the tax rates between LNG and traditional fuels, Congress has eliminated an unfair disadvantage in the taxation of LNG that has impeded wider use of natural gas vehicles,” Graves said.

Editor’s note: Talk Business & Politics’ Michael Wilkey contributed to this story.