House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed on a budget deal that maintains current highway spending levels through Fiscal Year 2014.
As of Sept. 30, however, the Highway Trust Fund is expected to be insolvent, and the budget deal struck this week does not address that issue.
Billions of dollars in transfers have been needed in recent years to keep the trust fund solvent as revenue from the federal fuel tax has dwindled due to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The proposed budget was unveiled Tuesday by lead negotiators Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R- Wis.), who said their plan will avoid a government shutdown in January such as the one in October that closed down most government operations for 16 days.
The Murray-Ryan budget — which calls for $1.012 trillion in total government spending in 2014 — still must be approved by the House and Senate.
Some conservative Republicans have already said they will oppose the proposed budget, while some Democrats have said they will object because the plan eliminates unemployment payments to the long-term unemployed.
