(The following story by John D. Boyd appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on February 24, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, says he backed a Democratic jobs bill Monday after Majority Leader Harry Reid assured him the Senate will vote later in 2010 on a long-term surface transportation bill.
Voinovich was one of five Republicans who backed a jobs bill offered by Reid, D-Nev., which would also extend current federal transportation spending levels through the end of this year.
As Senate majority leader, Reid sets the Senate’s calendar to debate and vote on legislation. Voinovich said that before casting his vote to help get the jobs bill past a filibuster, “Leader Reid gave me his commitment that he will bring the reauthorization of a multi-year surface transportation bill to the floor for a vote this year.”
The former multi-year transport program expired at the end of September, and has since gone through a series of short-term extensions as the Obama administration favored waiting until 2011 to craft a replacement.
Backers of a new bill say it would need to come up with additional funds to support future spending, such as a higher federal motor fuels tax, but others say that would be a hard sell ahead of next fall’s mid-term elections.
Reid, said Voinovich, “assured me that he understands the importance of a surface transportation reauthorization bill. I reiterated that it is the best way to create jobs, provide an immediate stimulus to the economy, rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and reduce our carbon footprint.”