Inhofe Works to Fix Road Funding
Congressional Desk
October 27, 2009
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe says the financial hit suffered by Oklahoma's transportation program this month was $15 million more than expected.
By the end of the week, the Oklahoma Republican hopes to have a deal in place to at least halt that downward trend.
"Oklahoma loses on this," he said.
At issue is whether Inhofe and other top congressional players on transportation can work out an agreement on a short-term extension, possibly six months, of the current transportation programs.
If they fail, they may have to settle for another month-long resolution like the one passed in September.
Congressional spending rules under that approach provided states $1 billion less than they would have had this month, a Senate aide said, and that translates into a $15 million bigger hit for Oklahoma.
Supporters of road projects clearly thought the previously reported figures were bad enough.
For example, officials at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation were forced to slash a $53.5 million contract letting scheduled for November to $6.2 million.
Inhofe, who inched closer to some kind of agreement last Friday, said in an interview he hopes to continue talks on Monday.
In addition to reaching a deal on a short-term extension that gets states past the 30-day approach, Inhofe is pushing for Senate language that would allow certain funds to remain with Oklahoma.
House language, he said, would allow those funds to flow back to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"I know what happens when it goes back," Inhofe said.
He said his approach probably will draw a budget point of order from another key Republican.
Inhofe, who serves as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, predicted the votes will be there to overcome such a challenge.
Earlier the Obama administration and others had hoped to get an 18-month extension of the current transportation programs, but that proposal hit a roadblock in the House.
In addition to the month-long approach states are stuck with now, they also suffered a financial blow from a so-called rescission, which essentially canceled contract authority.
Efforts to ease that hit were believed to be over, but last week they appeared to be revived. However, it was unclear how far the renewed efforts would go.
By the end of the week, the Oklahoma Republican hopes to have a deal in place to at least halt that downward trend.
"Oklahoma loses on this," he said.
At issue is whether Inhofe and other top congressional players on transportation can work out an agreement on a short-term extension, possibly six months, of the current transportation programs.
If they fail, they may have to settle for another month-long resolution like the one passed in September.
Congressional spending rules under that approach provided states $1 billion less than they would have had this month, a Senate aide said, and that translates into a $15 million bigger hit for Oklahoma.
Supporters of road projects clearly thought the previously reported figures were bad enough.
For example, officials at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation were forced to slash a $53.5 million contract letting scheduled for November to $6.2 million.
Inhofe, who inched closer to some kind of agreement last Friday, said in an interview he hopes to continue talks on Monday.
In addition to reaching a deal on a short-term extension that gets states past the 30-day approach, Inhofe is pushing for Senate language that would allow certain funds to remain with Oklahoma.
House language, he said, would allow those funds to flow back to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"I know what happens when it goes back," Inhofe said.
He said his approach probably will draw a budget point of order from another key Republican.
Inhofe, who serves as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, predicted the votes will be there to overcome such a challenge.
Earlier the Obama administration and others had hoped to get an 18-month extension of the current transportation programs, but that proposal hit a roadblock in the House.
In addition to the month-long approach states are stuck with now, they also suffered a financial blow from a so-called rescission, which essentially canceled contract authority.
Efforts to ease that hit were believed to be over, but last week they appeared to be revived. However, it was unclear how far the renewed efforts would go.
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