Congress Shifts Gears: The Highway Bill Takes Center Stage

With midterms over, it’s highway bill time

Congress returns to Washington this week with the next major highway funding decision still unresolved. Following the Nov. 3 midterm elections, lawmakers have roughly five legislative weeks to address federal surface transportation funding before the current extension expires Dec. 11.

The deadline affects the federal highway, bridge, transit and rail programs that support construction and maintenance projects nationwide. For truck drivers, the outcome will help determine how quickly states can move forward with road repairs, bridge work, safety improvements and other projects tied to the nation’s freight network.

Congress extended the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s core surface transportation programs through Dec. 11 as part of a short-term continuing resolution. That measure kept the Highway Trust Fund’s contract authority and several major programs in place while lawmakers continued negotiations on a longer-term highway bill.

However, the temporary legislation did not include certain advance appropriations authorized under the IIJA. As a result, that funding authority lapsed Oct. 1. According to a report cited by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the lapse puts $10.8 billion in nationwide formula funding at risk, including money designated for road, bridge and highway safety programs.

The immediate question is whether Congress can approve a new, multiyear surface transportation authorization before Dec. 11 or whether lawmakers will pass another short-term extension. A temporary measure would avoid an immediate disruption but would leave states and transportation agencies operating under continued uncertainty.

“America’s economy depends on a safe and reliable transportation network, and that requires consistent, long-term investment,” Henry Hanscom, chief advocacy and public affairs officer for American Trucking Associations, said in September. “The last thing we need is uncertainty that delays critical projects or puts infrastructure funding at risk.”

Those concerns are significant for trucking. Commercial drivers rely on predictable investments in pavement, bridges, interchanges and safety infrastructure. Delayed projects can prolong roadway problems, while uncertainty over federal funding can make it more difficult for states to plan construction schedules and prioritize improvements on heavily traveled freight routes.

The House has taken a first major step toward a new authorization. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act on a nearly unanimous basis. The measure would authorize approximately $580 billion for surface transportation programs.

Before the bill can reach a full House vote, it still awaits approval from the House Ways and Means Committee, according to the National Asphalt Pavement Association. That committee’s role includes matters involving federal transportation funding and related revenue provisions. The Senate has not yet released its own highway bill.

The BUILD America 250 Act is part of the regular federal reauthorization process, which generally determines how the government will fund highways, transportation infrastructure and public transit for several years. Previous authorization laws—including ISTEA, TEA-21, SAFETEA, MAP-21 and the FAST Act—expired before Congress completed replacement legislation. In each case, Congress used extensions to keep federal-aid highway programs operating while negotiations continued.

Other priorities could compete with the highway bill during the remaining weeks of the congressional session. Lawmakers must fund the federal government beyond Dec. 11 and complete the annual defense authorization bill, both of which are commonly handled during a year-end session.

Permitting reform also has occupied congressional attention. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, whose committee traditionally serves as a starting point for Senate highway legislation, said a draft surface transportation reauthorization proposal would not be introduced until the final weeks of the year. The Senate’s timing leaves limited room for negotiations if lawmakers want to produce a bill that can pass both chambers before the current extension expires.

The end of the election season removes one immediate scheduling obstacle, but it does not resolve the policy differences surrounding transportation funding. Congress must still determine how much money to authorize, how programs will be funded and which priorities will be included in the final legislation.

For the trucking industry, the central issue is continuity. States need reliable federal authority and funding to plan projects that affect the roads and bridges used every day to move freight. Whether Congress adopts the BUILD America 250 Act, develops a Senate alternative or approves another extension, the Dec. 11 deadline will force lawmakers to make a decision on the next phase of federal transportation policy.