Yesterday in the House-Senate Conference, it was stated that the U.S. Chamber was not supportive of the House’s approach on re-authorizing surface transportation legislation.  Let me take this opportunity to set the record straight.  The Chamber has consistently supported the efforts of Speaker Boehner and Chairman Mica to bring House companion legislation to the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Conference.  The reforms embedded in both House and Senate proposals capture many of the transformational reforms we have been calling for over the last 7 years.

This position has been consistent and is captured in a series of public statements, including:

• February 1, 2012: U.S. Chamber Letter to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure re Mark Up of Surfare Transportation portion of H.R. 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012
• April 18, 2012: U.S. Chamber Key Vote Alert! re H.R. 4338, the "Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II"

I hope this clears up any confusion and hope that the House and Senate can come together to pass long-term surface transportation legislation into law before the program expires on June 30^th.  If the Conference fails to reconcile differences before the deadline, the program will be forced to revert back to woefully inefficient extensions of outdated and unaccountable transportation policy, missing a tremendous opportunity to enact much needed reforms embedded in House and Senate approaches.