The Senate is scheduled to vote on a highway funding bill tomorrow, but at this point in time no one knows how it will be paid for.
“The reason we didn’t have a vote on cloture today and we kicked it over to Tuesday is to give our Democratic friends a chance to internalize what we’ve offered and to tell us which of these pay-fors are going to be acceptable, and I think [Finance Chairman Orrin G. Hatch of Utah] laid out roughly $82 billion worth, which would get you roughly a five-year bill,” Cornyn said. “Of course, some of them are more controversial than others. So the question is … how much do we dial up or what sort of length of time can we get? And that’s directly related to how many of these pay-fors that can be agreed to.”
Some of the more delusional members of the Senate still believe Congress can pass a 5 to 6 year funding bill, but those who knows better imagine it being something more probable, like a single month.
“If we’re not ready, and I have every expectation that we will be ready, but if not, it might take a short patch. Maybe a month,” Inhofe said.
I cannot even imagine the reaction of transportation departments in DC and the across the nation who may be asked to operate on a month-to-month basis. I assume that doing so is virtually impossible and would place many projects and departments in a state of paralysis. They may as well be shut down.
The least the Senate could do is join the House in passing a 6-month extension of highway funding.
Even if the Senate can agree on a way to pay for a highway bill in the next 24 hours, it's very unlikely the Senate bill could also pass the House. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives, after all, was not able to pass their own version of a long-term funding bill.
This shitshow isn't over yet.