The House of Representatives last night voted overwhelmingly – 335-85 – to extend the nation’s transportation program (SAFETEA-LU), which is set to expire on October 1 without Congressional action. Though Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) originally opposed any extension of the program in order to keep pressure on Congress to pass a new six-year bill, he was the sponsor of the current three-month extension.
The Senate, which originally supported an 18-month extension – in line with Obama administration desires – will likely fall in line with the three-month extension. The last reauthorization battle dragged on for nearly two years and required a dozen extensions before the SAFETEA-LU bill was finally signed.
One looming issue that the extension bill does not address is an upcoming recission of funds written into SAFETEA-LU to reduce the perceived size of the bill. On October 1, Federal Highway Administration is instructed to take back $8.7 billion in unused highway funds from the states, which will cost some states hundreds of millions of transportation project dollars.
Though the extension bill does not backfill the recission, it appears likely that Congress will try and do so with general funds. This is another hit to taxpayers who have already provided $15 billion in general funds to backfill the Highway Trust Fund and keep it from running empty. The $8.7 billion recission was a budget gimmick to make the highway bill appear smaller when it was passed; the expectation was always that the recission would be removed. This is the most cynical of political maneuvers, and another example of a broken highway funding system.
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