(MSNBC) -- Congress was set to end months of partisan bickering on Friday by
passing a comprehensive extension of highway and infrastructure
projects, along with a one-year extension of low student loan rates that
were set to double.
The House voted 373 to 52 to approve a $120
billion, 27-month bill to fund highway projects. Attached to that bill
was the student loan extension, which prevented rates from doubling from
3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1.
The Senate was set to take up the legislation on Friday, as well.
The
package lumps together some of the biggest stumbling blocks to beguile
lawmakers in the past few months. Squabbling over how to finance each
priority had divided the Republican-controlled House and the
Democratic-run Senate.
Republicans had also insisted on including a
measure to move the Keystone XL oil pipeline forward. President Obama
and Democrats opposed it, though, and it was ultimately omitted from
today's bill.
Instead, Republicans were able to use funds set
aside for "beautification, bike paths, and sidewalk lighting" for higher
priority infrastructure projects such as the national highway system
instead. They were also able to keep funding at current levels.
The
package also cuts the average review and permitting process for new
infrastructure projects in half, done mostly by streamlining
environmental reviews so they can run concurrently, something for which
Republicans had also fought.
