House passes six-year highway bill; Ex-Im Bank renewal included

From American Highway Users Alliance

The House just passed their version of a six-year highway bill by an overwhelming 363-64, with three years of revenue. Additional revenue would need to be identified by Congress in the future, to fund programs from fiscal years 2019-2021.

The bill now goes to conference committee, where differences between the Senate and House are expected to be ironed out over the next few weeks. The traditional highway and transit titles are expected to be worked out with relative ease in the next week or two. The vehicle safety and funding titles may take longer to get to an agreement.

As soon as the final House bill, including all adopted amendments, is available, we will send our members a link to the bill text. The Highway Users staff will review key differences between the House and Senate bills and share them with our members. Currently, the House bill sets top-line highway funding levels at the current baseline rates, which rise with inflation. The Senate bill has total funding levels that exceed inflation by approximately 3.6%.

The transportation bill passed with the Export-Import Bank reauthorization language included.  The Senate will now determine whether to agree with the House or go to conference committee to resolve any differences.  AIM will continue to monitor the process to ensure the reauthorization of the Bank remains in the final bill.