Pat Dollard

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Politico:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid admonished Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Wednesday, suggesting that he was acting like a “dictator” in blocking transportation legislation and that his action could put 80,000 people out of work by this weekend.

While Reid did not name names in his floor speech, Coburn is unhappy about a provision of the House–passed bill that temporarily extends funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and highway projects: a requirement that states set aside some surface transportation money for bike paths, museums and other such projects.

Coburn denied Wednesday that he’s filibustering the bill, but his spokesman has said the senator will use “all the tools at his disposal” to strip the provision from the bill.

The Senate must pass the measure and send it to President Barack Obama by Friday to avert another partial shutdown of the FAA, similar to the one earlier this summer that furloughed 4,000 FAA workers and froze 75,000 airport construction jobs.

“It’s a pretty good way to legislate around here, be a dictator and say, ‘Either take this or leave it.’ That isn’t how things work around here,” said Reid, a Nevada Democrat. “We have to have votes on issues to find out how people feel. I’m convinced his issue would lose overwhelmingly, but he’s holding this legislation up. And we are in a position that … we cannot get to this bill prior to Friday when the FAA expires.”

“So it’s unfortunate that’s the position we’re in,” he added. “One senator is holding this up … and if this continues, we will have about 80,000 people out of work by Saturday.”

Coburn wouldn’t directly respond to Reid’s remarks, but said he wants the bill amended to allow states to opt out of having to pay for so-called “transportation enhancements.”

“If we’re going to extend the bill, then let’s let states use the money to repair bridges and highways, not build scenic and sound walls and make things look nice,” Coburn said. “We need to let the states decide how they repair the bridges and highways. Instead of doing what we want them to do, we need to let the states do what they want to do.”

The legislation, passed by the Republican-controlled House Tuesday, would fund the FAA for another four months and extend highway funding and the gasoline tax by six months. The surface transportation law and gas tax don’t expire until the end of the month.

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said Coburn might be looking to offer an amendment on the issue. While he backs Coburn’s position in principal, Inhofe said it’s more important to make sure the extension gets passed in time.

“I would agree with the amendment,” Inhofe said. “The problem of it is this is an extension.”

The funding Coburn is targeting only accounts for 2 percent of the overall funding, Inhofe pointed out.

“And if that’s what it takes to get an extension and to draft a bill … then I want to do that,” Inhofe said. “I don’t want the 30th of September to come and we stop everything. We have to have an extension.”