Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal on U.S. Highway Funding Package

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May 23 2021, 1:03 AMMay 23 2021, 2:33 AMMay 23 2021, 1:03 AMMay 23 2021, 2:33 AM

(Bloomberg) -- A group of Senators said they reached a bipartisan agreement on highway funding a day after Republicans rejected the Biden administration’s trimmed-down $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal.

The top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee announced Saturday they reached agreement on the surface transportation reauthorization bill, which would provide $304 billion in funding for highways, roads and bridges.

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The legislation, which is separate from President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan, will be considered by the full committee on Wednesday, the senators said. The panel is one of the four authorizing committees in the Senate for the legislation. The bill has been delayed in the House; it isn’t expected to be marked up until late June.

The agreement came after Biden reduced the size of his infrastructure and jobs plan by about a quarter in a bid to advance negotiations with Republicans. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the leading GOP negotiator, said Friday the two sides remain far apart. She’s the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.