The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was facing another partial shutdown at midnight tonight due to an impasse over how the Senate would consider the a bill to extend taxation and funding authority for both the FAA and the Highway Trust Fund. However after a series of bipartisan negotiations, last night the Senate passed by a vote of 92-6 a transportation extension bill approved by the House earlier this week. The bill includes a four-month FAA extension and a six-month extension for surface transportation programs. Attempts by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to eliminate a mandate that states spend 10 percent of their surface transportation funding on “transportation enhancements” such as bike lanes and footpaths, threatened to hold up consideration of the legislation. However, Sen. Coburn eventually relented, saying that he had won assurances that the next multi-year highway bill will include his language allowing states to opt out of the enhancements.
The bill now goes to the White House, where President Obama is expected to sign the bill sometime before the end of today.
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