Reauthorization

Now that the Senate has passed a transportation bill and everyone's waiting to see what the House will do next, Transportation for America has done us all a great service and compared the Senate's bill to the House's -- well, to the last thing the House showed us before things fell apart for John Boehner's extreme attack on transit, biking, and walking.

Praise for the Senate transportation bill and its bipartisan passage is pouring in to the inboxes of Congressional transportation reporters this afternoon.

The Senate transportation bill has finally passed by a vote of 74 to 22. In a show of bipartisan support, which this bill has largely enjoyed from start to finish, 22 Republicans voted for its passage.

The Senate is voting right now on the final amendments to the transportation bill and will consider the full bill later today. Transportation for America has put out a handy amendment tracker, reproduced below, with descriptions of each one and the final outcomes of the votes that happened yesterday. Senate leaders had already tossed out many amendments that had been introduced and agreed to consider the 30 below.

Last week, when House Speaker John Boehner indicated his willingness to bring up the Senate transportation bill, it seemed like an admission of defeat for the brazenly partisan approach and insanely destructive policies the Republicans have been promoting. But it’s not over yet.

This morning, at the American Public Transportation Association's annual legislative conference, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said he was recently asked by the House Appropriations Committee if he prefers a two-year transportation bill or a five-year transportation bill. Neither, he said: "I prefer a bipartisan bill."

In its annual “Views and Estimates” document [PDF], the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee indicates that when it comes to transportation policy, despite a few nods to transit, House Republicans still want to cut spending and let highway-centric state DOTs sort out the details. While the House transportation bill could be on its last legs, the document shows that the House GOP hasn't given up on its quest to eliminate street safety programs for walking and biking while giving a free hand to states to build more sprawl projects.

The Senate is finally making progress towards passing their two-year transportation bill, but the big question seems to be what's to come in the House -- and not even the House knows.

After two consecutive failed attempts, floor votes are finally proceeding on the Senate's two-year, $109 billion transportation bill. The votes come on the heels of an agreement between party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, which will allow certain non-transportation-related amendments to be voted on. As part of the deal, those amendments will require 60 votes for passage instead of the customary simple majority.