WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is hopeful a bipartisan, six-year transportation funding bill that was passed in the Senate last week will pass in the U.S. House of Representatives in the months to come.
“We pushed a short-term extension for three months. I’m disappointed by that,” Capito said. “But I am heartened that for the first time in 10 years we have a multi-year bill on the table that I think we can work with the House to iron out our differences and get done by October.”
The six-year bill received bipartisan support in the Senate and now it’s up to the House to do the same, Capito said.
“We need a multi-year robust bill. That’s what we passed in the Senate. It was an overwhelming vote,” she explained. “I think we’re going to have great luck achieving this. Sometimes it’s just not as easy as it looks.”
West Virginia leaders have said on a number of occasions how the Mountain State would benefit from a multi-year funding bill especially on large, currently undone, projects. A multi-year bill would help in the planning stages, state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox has said.
The House passed the temporary $8 billion funding bill before leaving town for its August break and the Senate concurred guaranteeing highway funding until October but the House leader is also talking about a six-year bill.
“Sen. McConnell (Maj. Leader Mitch McConnell) and I, while we have a disagreement over this bill — we’ve had one — we both want to get to a long-term highway bill,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Hill newspaper.
Capito is optimistic that a deal could get done in the next few months. The bipartisan support in the Senate is impressive with McConnell (R-Ky) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal) joining forces, Capito said.
Capito will hold a news conference at the UPS Terminal in Nitro Monday highlighting the passage of the Senate transportation funding bill, known as the DRIVE Act.