By Kevin McCarty
April 16, 2012

House leaders insisted on another extension of the nation’s surface transportation law, seeking more time to find consensus on their renewal plan while rejecting efforts by House and Senate colleagues, mayors, industry leaders and others who urged them to take up the bipartisan Senate bill (S. 1813).

Prior to adjourning for the Easter work period, the House initiated, and the Senate later passed, legislation providing for a 90-day extension of the SAFETEA-LU law through June 30.

President Obama signed the extension legislation (H.R. 4281) into law hours before a March 31 deadline took effect. This ninth extension, if allowed to run the full 90 days, means more than 1,000 days will have elapsed since SAFETEA-LU first expired September 30, 2009.

Pressure has been mounting for weeks on House leaders to find a bipartisan strategy to successfully navigate divisions within that chamber over how to move forward on a renewal plan. In this regard, mayors strongly urged House Members to adopt the Senate measure, or at least act on another bipartisan plan.

This campaign, led by Conference of Mayors President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, focused on direct mayoral outreach to local representatives and the use of social media. Specifically, mayors described how key local projects were being delayed and disrupted. Mayors also talked about how this year’s construction season is adversely effected and how additional jobs would be lost if action on final renewal legislation was again postponed in favor of a temporary extension.

It is certain that there is a strong bipartisan consensus for action within the House on selected reforms, certain revenue raisers, and spending levels at roughly current funding levels for both highway and transit programs. But to date, the political debate has not allowed legislation with these features to come before the full House.

Some House leaders continue to believe that a multiple-year renewal plan can be drafted, brought before the full House for approval, and reconciled with the Senate bill by June 30, even as the clock ticks away on the most recent extension.