advertisement

---

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved a bill to reauthorize the nation’s transportation programs for two years, the EPW Committee announced in a press release.

Dubbed “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21),” the bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), committee chairwoman; Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the committee; Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee; and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), ranking member of the subcommittee.

The bill calls for funding transportation programs at current levels plus inflation, consolidating 90 programs into 30 and eliminating earmarks.

The committee’s unanimous, bipartisan vote “sends a strong signal that we are serious about job creation and getting our economy back on track,” Boxer said in a prepared statement.

“This cooperation is a rare win for bipartisanship, and I believe it will provide encouragement to the Finance Committee as they work to ensure full funding for this two-year effort,” said Boxer.