House and Senate lawmakers announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday on a measure that extends spending on federal highway programs for five years, and includes a revival to the charter of the Export-Import Bank, despite staunch opposition to the bank from conservative Republicans.
Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on the bill this week.
While the Export-Import provision is likely to cost Republican votes, the measure is expected to clear Congress and head to President Obama’s desk for his signature. It will mark the first long-term spending authorization in many years when signed into law.
“A safe, efficient surface transportation network is fundamentally necessary to our quality of life and our economy, and this conference report provides long-term certainty for states and local governments, and good reforms and improvements to the programs that sustain our roads, bridges, transit, and passenger rail system,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa.
The bill includes dozens of reforms and changes to funding aimed at improving road and bridge repairs as well as mass transit, including more money for bus transportation and railway safety. Shuster said the bill includes “robust reforms” to Amtrak, and also permits competitors to operate three Amtrak long-distance lines if they can do so at a lower cost.
The bill also provides federal funding to complete rail safety technology called Positive Train Control, which regulates against excessive speed.
Related to the Ex-Im bank, the bill would require the government to try again to negotiate an end to export credit schemes, although those negotiations have lagged for decades without getting anywhere.
The legislation is fully paid for, but not with the hoped-for corporate tax reform revenue House Speaker Paul Ryan talked about earlier this year.
Instead, the $305 billion price tag is covered in part by cutting the dividend paid to banks with assets greater than $10 billion. Another large chunk of funding comes from the federal gas tax, which has not been raised in years, but which the legislation extends at its current level until 2022. Other provisions providing funding include one requiring the IRS to use private debt collection agencies to collect outstanding taxes.
The legislative revenue disappointed those advocating for either an increase in the 18.4 cent fuel tax, federal road tolls or a mileage tax.
“We are disappointed that Congress has once again chosen to bail out the Highway Trust Fund with non-user revenues rather than fix the problems that are driving it to insolvency,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute transportation policy expert Marc Scribner.
