House speaker gives Republicans highway bill ultimatum (Reuters)
"U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner implored fellow Republicans on Wednesday to pass a $260 billion transportation bill, their party's flagship job creation measure, which has fallen victim to internal squabbling."
"In a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, he warned that if they failed to pass the House bill, they would have to settle for a less-ambitious measure being considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate, according to a source who attended the meeting.
The Senate bill has broad bipartisan support, but does not contain the funding and energy expansion provisions that Republicans favor. Republicans are trying to attach an amendment that would approve the delayed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas, but a Democratic senator is offering a provision to neutralize that effort."