A bill approved by the House Transportation Committee this week would provide $2 billion to deal with the issue of structurally deficient bridges - far less than Rep. James Oberstar's original proposal
to raise the fuel tax by 5 cents a gallon to fund $25 million in bridge repairs over three years.
The legislation would allocate $2 billion from the General Fund to identify and rehabilitate structurally deficient bridges across the United States and reform bridge management practices.
According to published reports, the Minnesota Democrat, who is also chairman of the transportation committee, "grudgingly" offered the scaled-back bridge legislation.
Oberstar has been pushing for more funding for bridge repairs following the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis in August.
The Senate recently approved $1 billion to fix bridges as part of a larger transportation and housing programs bill.
The House bill requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to identify all structurally deficient federally funded bridges and prioritize replacement or rehabilitation needs and costs. At the same time, it requires states to report inspection results every two years and adds certification requirements to bridge inspector training programs. It further prevents states from deferring bridge rehabilitation funds to other projects unless they can show an absence of structurally deficient bridges.
The American Trucking Associations praised the measure.
"Chairman Oberstar understands the importance of the nation's infrastructure," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves in a statement. "There are very real safety and economic consequences from failing to adequately maintain and improve the system. ATA and its members are pleased to support efforts that address the vulnerabilities of the nation's infrastructure."
White House spokesman Alex Conant called the decision to drop the gas tax proposal "a victory for taxpayers." The administration had strenuously opposed the idea.
Some Democrats, however, said the bill didn't go nearly far enough. According to published reports, Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., chastised the committee for not having "the political courage to do what this country needs."