Senators put bank revival in road bill

House waved it off before add-on

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California is shown during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in this March 24 file photo.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California is shown during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in this March 24 file photo.

WASHINGTON -- Senators overruled heated conservative opposition Monday and added a measure reviving the federal Export-Import Bank to highway legislation. Earlier in the day, a House Republican had declared the transportation bill dead on arrival.

As House members convened Monday for their final days of work before an annual August recess, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy ruled out taking up the Senate's highway bill, which is headed for completion in the next several days.

"We're not taking up the Senate bill," the California Republican told reporters at the Capitol, adding that the Senate should instead take up the bill already passed by the House. "My best advice to the Senate is to get our highway bill moved forward," he said.

Hours later, in a late-night session, the Senate voted 64-29 to include the provision reviving the Export-Import Bank as an amendment to its version of the highway bill. Arkansas' Republican Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton voted against the amendment.

The bank, a federal agency that underwrites loans to help foreign customers buy U.S. goods, expired June 30 amid conservative opposition on Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail.

Supporters in the business community say the bank is necessary for U.S. competitiveness, but conservatives say it amounts to corporate welfare.

The Senate action on the Export-Import Bank hardly guarantees its continued survival, since the House's transportation bill does not include the bank.

The Senate's version so far authorizes $350 billion in transportation programs for six years, though only three of those years are paid for. It includes a reduction of dividends the Federal Reserve pays its member banks, to generate more than $16 billion.

The House-passed measure would pay for highways through Dec. 18 with $8.1 billion mostly from tightening tax-compliance rules. The short-term fix is meant to allow work on a six-year bill paid for by international tax changes.

Authority for federal highway aid payments to states will expire at midnight Friday without congressional action. At the same time, if Congress doesn't act before then, the balance in the federal Highway Trust Fund is forecast to drop below a minimum cushion of $4 billion that's necessary to keep aid flowing smoothly to states.

House Republican leaders say their approach would buy them time to try to come up with a tax overhaul deal coveted by the White House and some leaders in both parties, which they could use to pay for a long-term highway bill. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said publicly and privately that such a deal will be all but impossible to achieve. He wants to move legislation now to dispense with the highway issue at least through next year's elections, give certainty to states and avoid repeated fights over the issue.

"Time is running out to get this bill through Congress. We're up against a deadline at the end of week," McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor. "Jobs are on the line. Important infrastructure projects are, too. So we have to get the job done."

If the House doesn't pass the Senate bill, "our fallback position is a 60-day extension, and then we hope they take up the six-year bill as soon as they come back," said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

But McConnell is reluctant to take up the House's highway legislation, and the authors of the Senate's version took to the Senate floor Monday to urge McCarthy and House members to relent and act on the Senate version.

"I still am thinking that brighter minds will prevail," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who has bucked many in her party by collaborating with Inhofe and Republican leaders on the bill, urged the House to postpone its recess and take up the Senate bill. "I know you want to get out of town, everybody does; it's August and we have plans," she said. "But you know what, we're staying an extra week in August, you can stay an extra week in August. That's not such a terrible thing."

McCarthy did not sound open to any such suggestion, flatly telling reporters, "We are set to depart on Thursday."

If the House does leave Washington on Thursday without taking up the Senate's highway bill, that would mean the Export-Import Bank stays dead, at least until the fall, because the House version of the bill does not include it.

Late Monday, House Republicans filed a three-month bill that lawmakers were expected to debate at a private meeting this morning.

Governors call for deal

Despite the dispute between the two chambers in Washington, U.S. governors who attended the National Governors Association meeting during the weekend in West Virginia said they don't really care whether the Senate or House plan advances. They just want a long-term deal.

Frustrated by 33 short-term funding extensions during the past five years, state leaders said it's past time for action.

"I'll take whatever they're willing to give me," said Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and incoming vice-chairman of the association. "Make a decision. Give us long-term funding. America needs this."

Some of the 20 governors interviewed at their meeting in White Sulphur Springs favored the Senate plan, if only because it offers longer-term funding now. Almost all said a deal is more important than how it is funded.

"Whatever mechanism they use, we'd like to see stability and something that's sustainable for a long period of time," said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a six-term Republican.

Congress must strike a deal, said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who is outgoing chairman of the association.

"The critical thing is, roll up your sleeves, figure out your process and get the compromise," he said.

At the same time revenue and purchasing power are declining from the federal gasoline tax, congestion is increasing and states are failing to spend enough to refurbish crumbling roads and bridges.

About $163 billion is needed annually over a six-year period for highways, bridges and transit systems, yet only about $105 billion is being invested, according to a December report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Public Transportation Association.

"Our transportation infrastructure just looks really bad in comparison with so many countries around the world," said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, a Democrat.

Because of the uncertainty, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Montana, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming have delayed construction projects totaling about $2 billion, according to the Transportation Department.

"It's had a dramatic impact," said Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, whose state has delayed contracts set to start this year for 75 projects totaling $335 million.

Virginia's McAuliffe said that if there's no deal by Friday, it will affect about 400 projects totaling $1.2 billion in his state.

Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner and Joan Lowy of The Associated Press and by Mark Niquette, Billy House and Jeff Plungis of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 07/28/2015

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