GOP chairman to introduce infrastructure bill this summer

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) is working to unveil an infrastructure bill this summer.

A source close to the matter confirmed to The Hill that Shuster, who is retiring at the end of his current term, is working with other members of the committee to introduce a piece of legislation.

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“The infrastructure proposal will follow the general principles that the chairman discussed earlier in the year — that any proposal should be bipartisan, forward-looking and fiscally responsible,” the source said.

The push comes after President Trump’s rebuilding blueprint appeared to hit a wall in Congress this spring, despite bipartisan support for an overhaul of U.S. public works.

Shuster on Friday had summoned Republican members of the committee for a meeting on infrastructure, according to a senior House GOP aide.

“We checked FAA, WRDA drops today and now we are pivoting towards an infrastructure package,” that aide said Friday, referring to a reauthorization bill of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

Shuster and other members of the House panel have long called for a sweeping infrastructure package, but GOP leadership has not shown much of an appetite for a comprehensive bill.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) earlier this year said the president’s infrastructure blueprint would come about in “five or six different bills,” throwing cold water on the push for a large-scale overhaul.

Ryan at the time referenced two must-pass bills: the omnibus spending package and the FAA reauthorization. He also pointed to WRDA, a biennial water infrastructure legislation in the form of a stand-alone bill that both chambers of Congress are currently working to pass.

Shuster has maintained that any infrastructure proposal must have bipartisan support in Congress.