Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
House of Representatives

House GOP Is Back to a 90-Day Extension, Will See Debate Tomorrow

Another day, another another twist in the House's efforts to pass a transportation bill.

John Mica and John Boehner's stopgap measures have been repeatedly tripped up this week. Photo: ##http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/120117-occupy-dc-1045a.photoblog600.jpg##Zimbio##

Yesterday's postponed vote on a 60-day extension had initially been rescheduled for tonight, but that too will be scrapped, making it the third time the House has punted a vote on an extension in as many days. House transportation committee chairman John Mica told reporters today that he was still planning to bring a two-month stopgap to a vote, but then changed his tune according to Transportation Nation:

Minutes later, Mica returned to say he was “recalculating,” and that he would also file a 90-day straight extension to the existing highway bill. Mica had talked it over with GOP leaders and said the 90-day extension is what he “was told to do.” Republican aides said part of the issue was that a 60-day extension would likely expire while Congress was out of town on the Memorial Day recess, complicating efforts to get a House-Senate agreement on a final Highway bill.

The House Rules Committee will meet today at 5:30 to set rules for tomorrow's debate and vote, which in all likelihood will only require 218 votes to pass. It would then go to the Senate, whose members are understandably bitter that their own two-year bill, which passed 74-22 in bipartisan fashion, will not be voted on in the House -- but not so bitter as to close the door on an extension.

Transportation funding, as well as the federal gas tax, are due to expire at the stroke of midnight Sunday if no agreement can be reached on an extension. The House leaves for Easter recess on Friday, making tomorrow the last chance to vote on anything.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Op-Ed: Congress Has A Big Opportunity to Connect America By Intercity Bus

The next federal transportation bill could be a chance to connect rural America with buses like never before — and it will have spillover benefits nationwide, the CEO of one top bus company argues.

September 17, 2025

Breaking: US DOT Pulls Grants For Projects That Aren’t Focused on Cars

The Trump administration bias for "vehicular travel" — and the burning of fossil fuels that it requires — rears its ugly head again.

September 16, 2025

Seattle’s Human Population Is Up, But Its Car Population Isn’t

Urbanists have long been making that case that growth in Seattle is the most climate-friendly and easiest to support with transit and infrastructure. And it's happening.

September 16, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Stay Safe

Political rhetoric notwithstanding, you're much safer on a bus or a train than in a car, or walking or biking near cars.

September 16, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Going to M-A-R-S, Mars!

Acting NASA director Sean Duffy apparently has too much on his plate to do any research into transit safety.

September 15, 2025
See all posts