Spending Detente Results in Transportation Cuts

(Washington, DC -- Todd Zwillich, Transportation Nation) Republicans and Democrats locked in a spending fight on Capitol Hill appear to have averted the specter of  a government shutdown, for now. But the deal that sidestepped the showdown dealt some blows to transportation funding.

House Republicans easily passed a bill Tuesday extending government operations for two weeks beyond the current March 4th deadline. The idea is to give Republican and Democratic negotiators more time to cut a deal on government funding through September 30, the the remainder of Fiscal 2011. But the Republican-led Congress believes the American public is in the mood for spending cuts, so even the two-week peace offering contained $4 billion in immediate cuts.

That includes a $650 million cut in highway spending. The trim comes from increased spending from last fiscal year that the Obama Administration did not wish to continue anyway, according to the White House's 2012 Budget. The additional spending  would have sent more money to states through existing highway formulas, but will be cut if the president signs the 2-week extension bill.

The bill also shaves off $293 million in "surface transportation" earmarks, and another $25 million that would have been earmarked for "rail line relocation." It's all part of a move to kill about $2.7 billion in earmark spending in the measure.

The 2-week extension goes to the Senate floor today, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has predicted it will be approved. Then its on to President Obama's desk for a signature. But that hardly gets Congress into the clear. The bill only buys lawmakers a bit more time to continue negotiations on funding government operations for the rest of the fiscal year. Republicans are gunning for at least $61 billion in total spending reductions, so they'll still have an appetite for more cuts.