Following a weekend of frantic negotiations the Senate passed a procedural vote to advance a proposed three-year, $50 billion measure to restock the highway trust fund. Senate debate occurs this week.
The largest single source of
money, $17 billion, would come from cutting dividends paid by the Federal
Reserve to member banks. Another $7 billion would come from sales of oil from
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Increases in fees paid to the Transportation
Security Administration, customs fees and eliminating Social Security benefits
for people with outstanding warrants for their arrest would all contribute a
few billion dollars toward the bill. But prospects of speedy passage
aren’t great. Aside from an expected attempt to attach Export-Import Bank
reauthorization language to the must-pass legislation, Senator David Vitter’s
(R-LA) crusade against congressional health care benefits will continue this
week, this time with help from a presidential hopeful. The Louisiana Republican
is expected to introduce “No Exemptions” legislation to combat the employer
contribution for lawmakers, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is expected to copy
the language and try to insert it as an amendment into the highway funding bill
the Senate is set to consider this week. Senator Richard Blumenthal
(D-CT) and Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) told reporters that they would wage a
floor battle to require used-car dealers to repair defects in the vehicles they
sell, eliminate caps on fines for automakers and impose criminal penalties on
auto executives who knowingly hide deadly defects.