Reauthorization

Although Senate Republicans had hoped the carefully crafted compromise over the Transportation Enhancements program would stand, some House members are stating their insistence that the program be stripped out entirely in conference.

Hint to lonely hearts everywhere: If you're looking for some correspondence, join the transportation conference committee. Those folks are getting a lot of mail these days.

The 47 members of the transportation bill conference committee have a lot on their plates: The Senate's MAP-21 bill includes many provisions Republicans don't like, the House slapped controversial "poison pills" onto its non-bill, and chair Barbara Boxer wants this all wrapped up in a few weeks.

Last week, I published a list of seven questions I had as the Transportation Conference Committee started meeting. I was examining the politics, not the policy. Turns out some readers wanted to hear more about the policy.

5:41 Adjourned. Thanks for following our live-blog coverage -- all 3,276 words of it.

The first meeting of the transportation bill conference committee is today at 3:00. (To familiarize yourself with the participants, see Ben's reports on the House and Senate conferees.) We'll be live-blogging it, beginning to end.

The transportation news has been flying out of Chicago lately. Last week, in a 41-9 vote, the City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Chicago Infrastructure Trust, which will be used to build projects with private financing. Earlier this week, Emanuel and transportation commissioner Gabe Klein just unveiled a plan for a downtown bus rapid transit loop that will serve six different routes. Those bus lanes will open within two years. In the meantime, 2012 will see the inauguration of a 300-station bike share system and the city's first enhanced bus service on Jeffrey Boulevard.

Last night, the names of the House delegates to the transportation bill conference committee were released. The 33 members -- 20 Republicans, 13 Democrats -- will join the 14 Senators already named to the panel, and will be tasked with hammering out a compromise before transportation policy expires on June 30.

The Senate unveiled its list of conference committee delegates yesterday to a widespread lack of surprise.