Senate risks $38B transportation funding

The Senate’s stopgap spending bill is moving ahead, but transportation agencies are focused on what the measure does not appear to renew. The continuing resolution would keep most federal construction programs operating, according to Engineering News-Record, yet it does not include the advance appropriations created under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, that many highway and transit programs rely on after September 30. The Senate advanced the bill 89-4 on Monday, according to multiple reports, as lawmakers tried to avoid a shutdown while leaving a separate fight over transportation reauthorization for later. States Newsroom, in a report republished by several local outlets, said that approach leaves roughly $38.6 billion a year in extra federal transportation funding set to expire on Oct. 1 even if the stopgap becomes law. (enr.com) ### Why does a stopgap bill still leave transportation agencies exposed? The IIJA used two different funding tracks, and that distinction is driving the current problem. The Bipartisan Policy Center said the law paired traditional contract authority from the Highway Trust Fund with general-fund advance appropriations, and those advance appropriations do not continue past fiscal 2026 without new congressional action. (msn.com) The American Public Transportation Association said Senate appropriators’ continuing resolution extends surface transportation programs but “does not include Advance Appropriations.” That means agencies could remain open under a CR while still losing a separate stream of money they had expected for capital planning. ### Where does the $38.6 billion figure come from? (bipartisanpolicy.org) The $38.6 billion figure refers to annual extra federal transportation funding provided through the 2021 infrastructure law and now set to expire with it. States Newsroom reported that the lapse would amount to a major effective budget cut for states starting Oct. 1 unless Congress acts. (apta.com) California alone would lose nearly $1.1 billion a year under the lapse, one outlet republishing the States Newsroom story reported, illustrating how the impact would be distributed through state formula funding rather than a single discretionary grant account. ### Why are transit groups warning about a separate hit? Streetsblog USA reported on August 6 that the Senate bill would also result in the loss of about $950 million in transit infrastructure funding. (newsfromthestates.com) Its report said the stopgap spending bill recently passed by the Senate would allow $38 billion in transportation funding to expire on Oct. 1 because it does not extend the Biden administration’s infrastructure act. (tiffinohio.net) Engineering News-Record said transit-sector proponents warned that missing IIJA appropriations could delay future U.S. investment decisions after Sept. 30. That concern is tied less to day-to-day operations than to whether agencies can commit to larger, multi-year procurements and capital programs without clarity on federal cash flow. ### What does this mean for state DOTs and local agencies right now? (usa.streetsblog.org) September 30 is the key date for planners because both the IIJA’s surface transportation authorizations and its advance appropriations are scheduled to end then. The Bipartisan Policy Center said that deadline is built into the law’s structure, which is why a generic continuing resolution does not automatically preserve all transportation funding streams. (enr.com) State departments of transportation, transit agencies and contractors now have to plan around the possibility that formula money continues in one form while IIJA add-on funding disappears. Industry and advocacy groups cited in ENR and APTA said that uncertainty can affect procurement timing, project scheduling and capital commitments even before any formal lapse occurs. (bipartisanpolicy.org) ### What happens next in Congress? Congress has until September 30 to either pass the stopgap and separately extend or replace the expiring transportation provisions, or fold those provisions into later legislation. Roads & Bridges reported that the Senate proposal would extend IIJA surface transportation authorities until Dec. 11, but the current dispute centers on whether advance appropriations are carried forward as well. (enr.com) The next public markers are likely to come from Senate appropriators, transportation advocates such as APTA, and the text of any revised continuing resolution or reauthorization package released before the fiscal year ends on September 30. (apta.com) (roadsbridges.com)