House piecing together a deal

Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who serves as chairman of the House-Senate conference committee negotiating a multi-year reauthorization of TEA-21, cancelled a meeting of the conference committee that was scheduled for July 13. While it is unclear why the meeting has been postponed, some members of the House of Representatives conference team have developed a counteroffer to the Senate proposal to write a bill at the six-year $318 billion level that passed the Senate in February.

The House proposal that is circulating would provide $285 billion in guaranteed funding and an additional $10 billion in non-guaranteed authorizations. The House-passed highway bill contains $279.4 billion in guaranteed funding plus an additional $5 billion in non-guaranteed authorizations. The proposed counteroffer would be a 2.4% increase of the House-passed bill. The offer has not yet been formally presented to the Senate.

The Senate offer now on the table would provide $301 billion in guaranteed funding, plus an additional $17 billion in non-guaranteed authorizations.