House extends highway, other federal programs through Dec. 11

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) pauses before he meets with reporters ahead of a vote on a stopgap funding bill Sept. 1 in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

WASHINGTON — The House passed a short-term measure Sept. 1 that funds the federal government into early December and extends expiring federal surface transportation programs through the same time frame.

The House action funds federal agencies generally at current levels through Dec. 11, a move designed to avoid a chaotic shutdown as lawmakers campaign for re-election.

Lawmakers needed to act before the fiscal year concludes at the end of September to avoid a funding lapse. That includes federal surface transportation authorities established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that were scheduled to expire.

Regarding highway legislation, in May the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the BUILD America 250 Act, which would authorize $580 billion over five years for surface transportation programs and aims to shore up the Highway Trust Fund while addressing long-standing safety and freight mobility challenges.

House leaders have yet to announce floor consideration for the measure, and Senate transportation leaders have not indicated the timeline for their version of a surface transportation reauthorization bill.

A key provision for the trucking industry in the BUILD America 250 Act would establish grants to expand and improve truck parking capacity along major freight corridors. Industry groups have warned for years that a lack of safe, reliable parking forces drivers to choose between violating hours-of-service rules or parking in unsafe locations.

American Trucking Associations praised the committee’s approval of the bill, citing both infrastructure investment levels and the truck parking funding.

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A key provision in the House highway funding bill would establish grants to expand truck parking, but the bill has not been scheduled for a floor vote. (Bim/Getty Images)

Lawmakers were determined to avoid a shutdown during the during the campaign season following this past year’s historic stoppages.

The House passed the bill by a vote of 370-48. The Senate has already overwhelmingly approved the measure, so it now moves to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

“It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

A record 43-day shutdown occurred last fall when the two parties disagreed on renewing an expiring tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Then came the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which lasted 76 days before lawmakers agreed to fund much of the department but not its immigration enforcement operations.

Lawmakers were wary of a repeat before voters go to the polls. They also blamed the other party for the recent impasses.

“We’re going to avoid the threat of another Democratic shutdown,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in advance of the vote.

After the vote, Johnson said the House delivered, despite those who doubted the Republican majority would be able to push past its own divisions and rally support.

“We’re continuing to do the grown-up thing, get the job done,” he said.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, encouraged her Democratic colleagues to vote for the measure during a closed-door meeting Sept. 1.

She said the bill was much improved from the product that passed the House earlier this summer on a mostly party-line basis. For example, she said it prevents the Department of Homeland Security from transferring funds to the Border Patrol, and it delays a proposed rule that would give political appointees in the Trump administration more authority to stop federal grants from going out for programs they view as not in line with the president’s agenda. Those changes were made when the Senate approved its version of the bill.

Transport Topics contributed to this report.