Sen. Inhofe Gives Transportation Conferees 48 Hours to Accept Plan
With federal transportation programs facing a July 31 funding cut-off, Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) offered House and Senate negotiators one last-ditch effort to reach a compromise on July 20. At a meeting of the transportation conference committee, Inhofe, the chairman, floated a proposal that sets the funding level at $301 billion. The figure is below the $318-billion total in the Senate-passed bill and the House version's $284 billion. This is the only compromise that is sellable, he asserted.
Inhofe plans to offer his compromise as a formal motion when the conference panel next meets on July 22, one day before Congress scheduled five-week summer recess. There is not room to change any more, Inhofe warned the lawmakers.