Ways and Means committee puts Oberstar’s highway bill on hold for health legislation

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Ways and Means committee puts Oberstar’s highway bill on hold for health legislation
By Katelyn Ferral and Kevin Bogardus
Posted: 07/08/09 05:35 PM


Rep. Jim Oberstar’s (D-Minn.) ambitious plan to finish a new highway bill before the end of year is running into a roadblock of his party’s own making: the massive overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system.

The House Ways and Means Committee is swamped with healthcare, President Obama’s highest legislative priority. That means the panel doesn’t have the time to work on tax measures that would pay for the $500 billion highway bill that otherwise falls under the purview of Oberstar’s Transportation Committee.

“You have to believe me. Everything I am doing is health, health and health,” Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) told The Hill. He said he can’t yet talk about how to fund the highway bill, but added that “it is very important and it’s on the front burner.”

Several of Rangel’s colleagues on the panel were less optimistic, and cast doubt on whether the committee had time for another large undertaking this year given their responsibility on healthcare.

Many adamantly oppose increasing the gas tax to pay for the dwindling highway trust fund, which pays for rail and road projects in Oberstar’s proposed six-year highway bill. Others said they did not have time to consider the bill.

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http://thehill.com/business--lobby/ways-and-means-committee-puts-oberstars-bill-on-hold-for-health-legislation-2009-07-08.html