WASHINGTON, DC — In an effort to allow more time to pass a long-term highway bill, Congress has passed an extension that allows for more negotiation time for this important piece of legislation. The extension, signed by President Obama via autopen on Friday, November 20, renews the government's authority to keep highway and transit funding flowing to states through December 4 and gives Congress until then to iron out any differences in the long-term spending bill.

 

As previously reported by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), the highway bill contains key issues of vital concern to motorcyclists. First, the bill ends the federal funding of motorcycle-only checkpoints. It re-convenes the National Motorcycle Advisory Council (NMAC), a group that advises the Secretary of Transportation on how infrastructure issues affect motorcyclists. It maintains the ban that prohibits the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from lobbying states to pass mandatory helmet legislation, and it allows for funding of a study to determine the best ways to prevent motorcycle crashes.

 

Both the House and Senate have already passed separate versions of the bill. The House version calls for spending $261 billion on highways and $55 billion on transit over six years, but only if Congress can find a way to pay for the final three years. In contrast, the Senate’s version contains only three years of funding, with the extra three years as conditional.

 

In order to maximize funding for roads and transit projects, transportation groups and some lawmakers are urging the highway bill’s conference committee to allow for more money over fewer years. “As you begin conference negotiations to reconcile House and Senate proposals for a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill,” wrote a group of 26 senators in a letter to members of the conference committee, “we urge you to consider the urgent need for an increase in infrastructure investment around the country, and report a final proposal that can best address these needs by maximizing annual investment levels for all surface transportation programs over a shorter authorization period.”

 

The MRF will keep you apprised of developments as the conference committee continues its work on the highway bill.