Boehner delays vote on transportation bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker John Boehner delayed a vote on the $360 billion transportation bill scheduled for this week.

Boehner told the Republican caucus Wednesday it was "more important that we do it right than that we do it fast" when explaining his decision to postpone floor action, The Hill reported.

A person attending the caucus meeting told The Hill Boehner cited the number of amendments and "the need for a full, fair, open and transparent process" as reasons for delaying the bill.

Boehner already faced trouble this week to try to pass the transportation package, even after he broke the measure into three separate bills in hopes of finding easier passage in the House, several media outlets said.

Besides reauthorizing collection of the federal gas tax, one bill would expand offshore drilling for oil and gas, open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and create a shale-oil leasing program.

A Congressional Budget Office report released Monday indicated the bill would cause a $78 billion deficit in the highway trust fund over the next 10 years, The Hill said. Republicans said the CBO underestimated increased federal revenue from expanded drilling.

The other two parts would limit federal pensions and revise highway, rail and mass transit policy for the next five years.

President Obama had threatened to veto the original bill if it were sent to his desk.