House funding bill is delayed

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar’s (D-Minn.) hopes to have a transportation reauthorization bill passed before the House recesses for the summer may not be fulfilled.

A markup of the legislation tentatively scheduled by the T&I Subcommittee on Highways and Transit for June 17 has been postponed. The “Big Four” (Committee and Subcommittee Chairs and ranking members) met this week to discuss the proposed legislation and did not agree on a set of principles for inclusion in the bill.

Before moving to mark up the four plan to meet again to agree on the principles. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this week that the reauthorization bill likely won't make it to the House floor until after the Fourth of July recess. The House Ways and Means Committee, which must address the revenue portion of the bill, has not decided how to fund the measure and has scheduled a series of hearings to discuss the issue starting on June 25.