As Congress returns from its August break, a top priority for engineering and construction industry officials will be the spending levels lawmakers will set for infrastructure programs for fiscal year 2020. But with appropriations measures far from complete and fiscal 2020’s Oct. 1 start looming, lawmakers will turn to their familiar fallback—a stopgap measure to keep federal agencies operating and avoid a government shutdown.
Among other legislation, a wide-ranging infrastructure megapackage of $1 trillion or more looks dead. Industry officials are hoping for further action this year on a surface transportation bill, at least in the Senate. But legislation recommending how to raise the desired additional revenue for that bill seems to be an exceedingly long shot.