Sen. Durbin backs Senate transportation bill, not GOP House bill

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Updated: February 21, 2012 6:07PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says Republicans in the U.S. House should start over rather than push forward with a troubled bill on long-term funding for transportation.

He said Tuesday that the bill stands little chance of passing with so much opposition. Urban Democrats and Republicans alike, including Democratic Congressman Daniel Lipinski and Republicans Robert Dold and Judy Biggert, worry the bill would put city transit agencies in jeopardy,

Instead, Durbin is promoting an alternative Senate bill that he says has bipartisan support and does not touch the steady, reliable funding transit agencies get from the federal gasoline tax. The House version would stop funneling that money to transit networks, drawing numerous objections.

But some in Congress also object to the Senate legislation because it would only cover two years. The House bill is a five-year blueprint for transportation funding.

Lipinski, Dold and Biggert on Tuesday proposed changes that would restore a portion of federal gasoline taxes for the funding of city transit programs. Without it, transit agencies would be more vulnerable to cuts.

They also seek to secure money for those large transportation projects with national significance.

The House members from the Chicago area also want what they consider a fair pre-tax benefit for transit riders to help ease road congestion.

House Republicans want a vote on the bill sometime after this week’s recess.