WASHINGTON To the surprise of practically no one, the bumpy ride to pass new federal highway and public transportation legislation got even bumpier once the House and Senate began debating their respective bills.

Almost immediately, the legislation got bogged down in partisan political bickering and/or wrangling.

Now, lawmakers in both chambers are trying to revive their push to pass the transportation bills, although the House seems unlikely to quickly consider a revamped version of the Republican highway bill.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, made news late last month when his office announced he would likely scale back his proposal to spend $260 billion on road and transit projects over a five-year period. The Boehner announcement came after the Republican bill came under fire from both Democrats and Republicans. (See March 1 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Multiple House GOP aides said they did not expect revised legislation to be ready very quickly and details of proposed changes to the bill were scarce.

Boehner's office confirmed the speaker was not only considering shortening the length of the highway reauthorization, but also would likely scrap the idea of removing transit funding from the highway trust fund.

At the same time, the Senate's $109 billion version of the transportation bill was thought to be more likely to win quick approval because it had bipartisan support in several committees.

But the bill also hit a roadblock, as lawmakers were unable to win the 60 senators needed for a procedural vote to close off the opportunity for senators to offer amendments to the bill.

The bill's supporters in the Senate have complained about what they have called non-germane amendments, slowing down momentum.

The House did go ahead and separate a provision in its bill that would supplement transportation funding with proceeds from domestic oil and gas drilling. That provision is now running a separate course from the core bill, HR7.

Throughout the process, lawmakers have argued over funding and whether to include mass transit as part of the Highway Trust Fund.

Republicans and Democrats who wanted mass transit to remain part of the highway trust certainly appear to have gotten their way. The initial plan would have established an "alternative transportation" account and moved mass transit there, but the latest talk has it returning to the highway fund.

Should the length of the House version be modified and the transit funding issue be firmly resolved, then the major difference between the Senate and House bills will be considerably narrowed, according to several analysts.

The Senate version, S1813, is a two-year, $109 billion bill that focuses on highways and the consolidation of programs within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

"At their core, both the House and Senate bills focus on similar things, such as cutting environmental red tape, consolidating duplicative programs at USDOT that divert dollars away from highways, and giving states the flexibility to dedicate funds to their core needs," said one legislative affairs specialist.