WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday odds are better than even that lawmakers can reach a last-minute compromise on a transportation spending package, but said it is up to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to make the deal happen.

Federal funding for road, bridge and rail projects – and as many as 3 million construction jobs – expires on Saturday, putting lawmakers under pressure to either come to an agreement on a two-year package proposed by the Senate, or craft a short-term extension at current funding levels.

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – Senators involved in
marathon talks on a two-year deal for funding U.S. road, bridge
and rail projects said on Monday they were close to a compromise
with House Republicans, although they might need to work through
a Friday deadline to finish negotiations.

They declined to talk about specifics, or address whether
the potential deal would include a measure to approve the
Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline, which has been a major
hurdle.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans in the House of Representatives are insisting that a measure to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline must be part of a transportation funding bill, a stance that could hobble negotiators sprinting to try to reach a deal on the legislation this week.

Federal funding for transportation projects expires on Saturday. As many as 3 million jobs hinge on the legislation, and failure to pass it would have a direct impact on the economy ahead of the November 6 general election.

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) – With only a week to go until
funding expires for federal highway construction and student
loan rates soar, negotiators in Congress are working to cut a
deal that would defuse two political time bombs ahead of the
November general election.

“All I can confirm is that work continues through the
weekend, the goal being a final agreement that can get wrapped
up next week,” a House of Representatives Republican aide said
on Saturday.

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) – U.S. congressional leaders
failed on Tuesday to break a deadlock on a long-stalled
transportation funding measure, and Republicans now may need to
find a new legislative vehicle to carry their plan to approve
the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.

With a June 30 deadline for new transportation funds
looming, many lawmakers and aides now see it as inevitable that
the controversial Canada-to-Texas pipeline provision be removed
to make way for a short-term extension of current transportation
law.

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) – U.S. congressional leaders
failed on Tuesday to break a deadlock on a long-stalled
transportation funding measure, and Republicans may now have to
detach from the bill approval of the controversial Keystone XL
oil pipeline and find another vehicle for that project.

Removal of the pipeline provision would help clear the way
for a short-term extension of current transportation funding
before a June 30 deadline.

WASHINGTON/CALGARY, Alberta, June 15 (Reuters) – The scope
of a planned environmental review of the Keystone XL oil
pipeline from Canada could go beyond a small disputed portion in
Nebraska and threatens to delay the project further, its
Republican backers in Congress said on Friday.

The State Department asked on Friday for public comments by
the end of July to help determine the scope of an environmental
review ordered earlier this year for the controversial pipeline.
The review is designed to supplement a “final” environmental
impact report issued last August.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The geologist nominated as the new head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told senators on Wednesday that she plans to forge a good relationship with her colleagues on the panel and end the acrimony that existed under her predecessor.

Allison Macfarlane, 48, was nominated to the top job by President Barack Obama last month after the resignation of Gregory Jaczko, whose tenure as chairman was marked by public criticisms about his abrasive management style from the four other members of the commission.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ending a tax break that lets oil companies quickly deduct labor and other drilling costs would be a devastating hit on the country’s booming energy sector, a top energy adviser to Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Harold Hamm, the Oklahoma billionaire who runs Continental Resources Inc told the Senate Finance Committee that his company would have to cut a third of its drilling if the industry lost the “intangible drilling costs” break when Congress overhauls the U.S. tax code.

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – A freshman U.S. Democratic
senator thinks he may have found a way to encourage investment
in wind, solar and biofuel projects without sapping too many
taxpayer dollars or injecting new venom into a bitter partisan
battle over energy incentives.

Chris Coons introduced legislation on Thursday that would
allow a broad range of renewable power generation and
transmission projects to qualify for a tax structure used widely
by pipeline and other energy-related companies.