The Senate and the House return from recess this week and will have less than a month to complete a long-term authorization of the Highway Trust Fund.
With a fast countdown toward the July 31 expiration of funding, lawmakers must decided how long to authorize the trust fund and how to pay for it.
Further inaction and indecision by lawmakers could lead to even more widespread shutdowns of highways projects, if a solution isn’t reached by the end of the month.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced a proposed six-year, $275 billion reauthorization of the highway programs portion, which if passed into law would represent an increase in highway funding while adding new freight and infrastructure grant programs.
However, before that bill can move to the Senate floor, it needs two other authorizing committees to contribute the transit and safety portions and the Finance Committee to supply the revenue for it.
In the House, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has yet to unveil an authorizing bill, and would need the Ways and Means Committee to provide its funding.
There are no strong signs that lawmakers are near agreement on finding the revenue needed for a long-term bill.
