House Passes Two-Month Highway Patch

The House of Representatives on May 19th passed a temporary extension of the highway bill that will fund transportation projects through July.

The Senate is expected to vote on companion legislation by the end of this week. The last such patch job by Congress, put through last year, ran for ten months.

The two-month measure was approved by a 387-35 vote, reported The Hill. Twelve Republicans and 23 Democrats voted against the bill and one Republican voted "present."

While key members of both parties on Capitol Hill favor passing a long-term funding bill, at this late date the issue of how to pay for it remains unresolved.

The Obama Administration has indicated the President will sign a short-term extension if it passes the Senate, but stressed in a statement that what is needed is “a multiyear authorization bill that makes significant and long-term investments in infrastructure. It is time for the Congress to end the era of short-term patches and chronic underinvestment.”