Thousands of already underway highway projects are expected to receive full funding for at least another month now that President Biden has given his approval to a short-term funding extension bill.
Biden approved the legislation after an overwhelming House vote of 358 to 59. Members of the Senate gave their approval to the measure by unanimous consent.
A failure to enact the funding legislation would have meant that up to $50 billion in federal surface transportation programs, that are also combined with state projects, would have been halted.
The legislation, however, provides only temporary funding for the Highway Trust Fund, which was established in 1956 to provide financial support for any number of highway construction and upgrading projects across the country.
The fund survives on a federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel.
Exactly a month ago Congress approved similar legislation authorizing a funding extension for the program. Altogether, Congress has extended funding well over a dozen times in the last decade.
According to statistics compiled by the Associated Builders and Contractors, revenue for the fund earlier this spring was down by some 49% over the year before, due to a reduction in traffic during the pandemic.
The ongoing precarious nature of the Highway Trust Fund has prompted the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to push for passage of Biden’s $1.3 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes funding for all modes of transportation projects nationally.
In a statement, Jim Tymon, executive director of AASHTO, said the members of his group “need certainty to plan transportation projects to meet the needs of their communities and keep our economy moving.”
In an open letter to his colleagues, House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio said extended funding of the program will give legislators “additional time to work through the final resolution of a long-term surface transportation bill.”
This latest extension is set to expire on December 3.
By Garry Boulard