WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan quartet of U.S. senators has unveiled a two-year surface transportation spending measure to replace the one that expired in 2009.

The Senate plan would maintain federal highway and public transportation programs at current funding levels.

Meanwhile, House leaders say they are drafting their own six-year bill.

However, speculation continues to swirl that no bill will pass both houses of Congress until after the 2012 presidential election.

The bipartisan plan unveiled early this month by the leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee calls for reducing the number of core highway programs from seven to five, and would consolidate the Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System, and Highway Bridge programs into one National Highway Performance Program.

A proposed Transportation Mobility Program would replace the Surface Transportation Program, but would retain the same structure, goals and flexibility, allowing states and metropolitan areas to invest in the projects that fit their needs and priorities.

A markup of the bill was set for the second week of this month in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The legislation was put together by committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., ranking member of the committee; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., ranking member of the subcommittee.

The senators $109-billion measure would be the first reauthorization bill introduced in Congress to replace the current spending law, known as SAFETEA-LU, that has been temporarily extended eight times since it expired.

While most advocacy groups would prefer a six-year bill, some see the new markup as proof reauthorization is a Senate priority. Reauthorization progress in the House is seen as more muddled.

At a press briefing late last month, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, reiterated that the House leadership is holding fast to its promise to let his panel write a six-year reauthorization bill based on current spending levels.

"I think theres quite a move in Congress, especially on the Republican side, to make this a primary jobs bill," Mica said. "It has that potential, I believe."

During his briefing, Mica strongly criticized Boxers two-year approach to reauthorization. Boxer has said the fiscal situation is such that a two-year bill has the best chance of passing.

Only a six-year bill can provide the financial "stability" needed for long-term transportation planning at federal and state levels, Mica said, and Boxers two-year approach "depletes the entire trust fund in two years."