Bipartisan transportation bill to be unveiled Wednesday

Sen. James Inhofe, R-OK

Sources on Capitol Hill say that a deal is completed to pass a much-debated transportation authorization bill that’s been stalled between the House and the Senate.

According to The Hill, all that remains to be done is adding various provisions to the bill’s text. Sen. James Inhofe, a Republican lawmaker from Oklahoma, told reporters to expect the deal before midnight Wednesday.

“At midnight you’re going to know everything,” Inhofe said. “There are a few more things we need to do and I think we’ll be ready very soon tonight.”

In March, President Obama signed a 90-day extension for the two-year bill that the Senate approved earlier that month.

Passage of this transportation legislation is important not only to the tens of millions of public transit riders, but to the economic health of this country. According to the American Public Transit Association, investing in public transportation creates jobs and also gives people access to jobs. Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates and supports 36,000 jobs. Nearly 60 percent of trips on public transit are taken for work commutes.