Praise for the Senate transportation bill and its bipartisan passage is pouring in to the inboxes of Congressional transportation reporters this afternoon.
Here's the statement from the traditionally pro-highway U.S. Chamber of Commerce...
Passage of MAP-21 is a long-awaited victory for the business community and the American people... The Chamber commends the chairs and ranking members of the committees of jurisdiction for striving for a bipartisan bill.
...and from AASHTO, the association of state DOTs:
Their bipartisan approach helped set a path forward for this bill that not only provides a greater degree of funding certainty for states, it also establishes reforms that will streamline project delivery, consolidate programs, and improve performance reporting and accountability.
The bill also drew (somewhat more tentative) praise from advocacy organizations like T4America...
The Senate today has done the nation a great service in overcoming partisan gridlock to help Americans avoid literal gridlock... While there are still additional reforms that could improve the overall program, we have to commend the Senate for doing its part, and in so doing has created a road map for transportation policy that can win bipartisan support.
...and environmentalists:
The Sierra Club applauds the bipartisan coalition that fended off the desperate attempts of big polluters to derail a bill that will put Americans to work rebuilding and improving our transportation system and will begin to reduce our dependence on oil. Although there is room for improvement, this bill takes important steps forward in repairing our existing infrastructure and investing in clean, convenient transportation options such as transit, biking and walking.
The bill's applauders all urged the House to pass a transportation bill -- current policy runs out on March 31 -- while recognizing the abundant superiority of the Senate bill over what the House most recently proposed.
