Compelling infrastructure news out of the Senate last night: The long-delayed successor to the 2005 federal transportation law could come to a vote sooner than the spring 2011 timetable sought by the Obama administration, thanks to a promise secured by Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) in exchange for his vote in favor of the Democratic jobs bill.
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) (Photo: UPI)Voinovich joined four other GOP senators, including newly elected Scott Brown (R-MA), in voting with Democrats to end debate on a $15 billion jobs bill that transfers $20 billion to the nation's highway trust fund, keeping it solvent until the end of 2010.
But in a statement released just after his vote, Voinovich explained that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made a commitment in exchange for the Ohioan's support:
I spoke to Majority Leader Reidprior to this vote and he assured me that he understands the importanceof a surface transportation reauthorization bill. I reiterated that it is the best way to create jobs,provide an immediate stimulus to the economy, rebuild our nation’sinfrastructure and reduce our carbon footprint.
Leader Reid gave me hiscommitment that he will bring the reauthorization of a multi-yearsurface transportation bill to the floor for a vote this year. I lookforward to working with Senator Reid, [Senate environment committee chairman Barbara] Boxer [D-CA] and others to do soas soon as possible so we can put Americans back to work.
Voinovich's statement -- which he passed out paper copies of to reporters after last night's vote, according to the Huffington Post's Ryan Grim -- tracks with Boxer's comments at a Los Angeles town meeting on Friday, when she vowed to advance her version of a new long-term federal transport bill before the end of the year.
Setting the end of 2010 as the new timetable for a Senate vote on transportation policy would effectively commit Democrats to agreeing on a source of funding that would offset new six-year legislation in the range of $450 billion to $500 billion.
House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) has estimated that about $140 billion in new revenue would be needed to close the gap between anticipated federal gas-tax revenue and the price tag of replacing the 2005 transport law with a new bill.
Could the answer to the Democrats' transportation financing conundrum be a post-election session (often dubbed a "lame-duck") after this November's midterms?
