Unable to produce a multi-year transportation bill so far, the House has approved legislation that would extend the highway and transit programs for four more months. The bill, passed on Feb. 11 by a vote of 421-0, would avert a cutoff of federal surface transportation funding on Feb. 29. If the Senate goes along and President Bush signs the measure, it would extend the transportation programs through June 20, and provide more than $25 billion in highway contract authority and $5 billion in mass transit funding.
The current statute, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, expired last Sept. 30. With no long-term bill ready at that point, Congress approved a five-month extension, which runs out on Feb. 29.