Congress passes stopgap transportation bill
As the public transportation program authorization expires on September 30, legislators are moving forward to continue funding the nation’s critical infrastructure.
On Sept. 1, the House of Representatives passed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, or HR 6500. This would avoid a government shutdown at the beginning of FY 2027 and also reauthorize some of the surface transportation programs through December 11. Then, on Sept. 2, the President signed it into law.
This decision serves as a short-term solution for continued funding for transportation, planning and projects. However, not all programs are covered by the continuing resolution, leaving an estimated $13.5 billion gap in highway and public transportation funding.
The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus met with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Sept. 3 to discuss the Build America 250 Act, which passed the committee with a vote of 62-2.
The Build America 250 Act would authorize $580 billion for highways, highway safety, transit and rail programs over fiscal years 2027 through FY 2031, with $474.4 billion provided as Highway Trust Fund contract authority.
“The BUILD America 250 Act is a long-term bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, and other surface transportation infrastructure, cuts red tape in the project process, and ensures that states have the certainty and flexibility to carry out the projects most critical to them,” said Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves. “ The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved this bill with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, and I look forward to working with the Problem Solvers Caucus and all of our colleagues in the House and Senate to send a final multi-year transportation bill to the President before the end of this Congress.”
