Senator May Block FAA, Highway Funding Deal

(Bloomberg) - An agreement to keep U.S. aviation, highway and transit programs operating may be challenged by a senator who wants to stop requiring states to spend money on highway beautification and bicycle lanes.

An agreement to keep U.S. aviation, highway and transit programs operating may be challenged by a senator who wants to stop requiring states to spend money on highway beautification and bicycle lanes.

Senator Tom Coburn will use "all procedural tools at his disposal to force a vote" to block the requirement that states set aside a portion of federal highway grants for so-called transportation enhancements, said John Hart, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Republican, by telephone.

"We're not going to continue to spend money on that," Coburn said in an interview.

Asked about Coburn's threat to block the extension measure, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said "there's an active negotiation" to resolve it among Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat; House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.

Read more at Bloomberg.

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