Obama has beaten up on the Republican Congress this past week. He ain't done yet..........
NY Times - Jun 29, 2012
Congress Approves a $127 Billion Transportation and Student Loan Package
Congress gave final approval on Friday to legislation that combines a two-year transportation measure with bills to extend subsidized student loans and revamp federal flood insurance, wrapping up a bruising session with measures that will be popular on the campaign trail.
The final $127 billion package angered fiscal conservatives and liberal environmentalists alike, but leaders in both parties — along with many rank-and-file lawmakers — wanted to put the issues behind them.
Exhausted members of both parties pointed to the legislation as a tonic for the ailing job market, as well as proof that an unpopular Congress could get something done. The House passed it by 373 to 52, the Senate by 74 to 19. All the no votes were by Republicans.
“When all is said and done, this bill is what it is,” said Representative Nick J. Rahall II, a West Virginia Democrat who was one of the senior negotiators. “It means jobs.”
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, a freshman Republican from Washington State, called the measure “a symbol of how Congress is supposed to operate and why we are here.”
The transportation legislation extends federal highway, rail and transit programs for 27 months, authorizing $120 billion in spending, financed by the existing 18.4 cents-a-gallon gasoline tax and the 24.4 cents-a-gallon diesel tax, as well as about $19 billion in transfers from the Treasury, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group. That was a retreat for many House conservatives, who had vowed to scale back or eliminate those taxes and shift responsibility to the states.
The $6.7 billion student loan provision extends the current 3.4 percent interest rate on Stafford loans for one year, financed by changes in pension laws and a restriction on the length of time students could get those loans. The flood insurance program increases premiums and requires people living near levees to have coverage.
For Republicans, the huge measure violated a number of promises that the new leadership had made to the Tea Party-fueled electorate that brought it to power.
