GOP senators want to scale back highway bill

Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) have filed an amendment to the bill that would effectively limit the highway legislation to three years. 

 

{mosads}The legislation being considered provides authority for federal funding for six years, but only includes funding for the first three years.

 

According to the amendment, “any authorization or appropriation for each of fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 shall have no force or effect.”

 

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said that the current funding setup puts Congress on the path for another “fiscal cliff.” 

“Only in Washington could you square a six-year bill with only three years of funding,” Flake said in a statement. “Rather than find itself staring down another fiscal cliff in short order, the Senate ought to exercise some fiscal responsibility now.”

Scott added that Congress “should only be planning to fund what we can pay for, plain and simple.”

Lawmakers are facing a tight end-of-the-month deadline to pass new highway funding, after approving a two-month extension earlier this year. 

The amendment could add an additional hurdle to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) push to pass the highway bill by Wednesday so that it can be sent over to the House before lawmakers leave for a month-long recess. 

House leadership has shown little interest in taking up the Senate’s legislation, which is expected to include a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.