The House has 280 amendments to a $325 billion highway bill to work through over the next three days, one of which includes measures tied highway funding, which expires Nov. 20.
Another measure includes a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is emphasizing an open amendment process.
“We’re allowing members to participate in a way that the founders intended and we’re advancing an issue that is a big priority to the hard-working taxpayers of this country,” Ryan said during his debut news conference.
“I’ve told people we’re going to do more of this,” he continued. “I’m very committed to a complete set of changes to the House rules to make it a more deliberative and participatory process. We’re going to do this as a team, and we’re going to get this right together.”
Another amendment to be voted on is a proposal to allow states to decide if they want to increase cargo weight limit from 80,000 to 91,000 lb. Highway safety advocates argue that such an increase would make trucks more likely to crash and damage roads.
