Senate

McConnell mum on House highway plan

by Jordain Carney - 07/28/15 11:23 AM ET

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday didn’t mention the House GOP leadership’s plan to effectively jam the Senate with a three-month extension of federal infrastructure funding.

The Republican leader spoke on the Senate floor after House leadership announced that they would try to pass the short-term extension and then leave town until September, before the Senate is able to pass its long-term bill.

{mosads}”I’m proud to see the Senate continue along this difficult but promising road. Success was never assured at the beginning of the process,” McConnell said. “The important thing is the Senate is now on the verge of passing a multiyear bill.”

McConnell’s remarks come after the six-year highway bill overcame a key procedural hurdle on Monday evening. Senators also tabled a two-month extension of highway funding, effectively killing the proposal for the moment.

The Kentucky Republican suggested that the Senate’s bill could still be successful, saying that if lawmakers keep working together, “we’ll get this done.”

Though House leadership has taken little interest in taking up the Senate’s bill, senators have continued to push forward with the idea that if they send a long-term bill to the House, the lower chamber will have no choice to take it up.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) dismissed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) comments from Monday that the House wouldn’t take up the legislation, describing them as “off the cuff.”

A spokesperson for McConnell denied that the House is trying to force the Senate’s hand with the three-month bill.

“The House isn’t trying to ‘jam’ us. Both houses now agree on the need for a multiyear highway bill. This shorter extension (it’s not the one they passed earlier) gives them the time to get that done,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

– Updated at 12:16 p.m.

Tags Jim Inhofe Mitch McConnell