Congress Limits Highway Program Extension to March

The Senate is expected to complete action tomorrow on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund government programs through March 4, 2011, and the House is expected to follow suit and give its approval soon after. Included in the CR is an extension of highway and transit program authorization to March 4^t with funding continuing at FY 2010 levels. The CR became necessary when efforts by the Senate to pass an Omnibus FY 2011 appropriations bill failed over concerns about the number of funding earmarks in the bill and the funding levels. Senate Republicans would like an opportunity to address FY 2011 funding for all government programs and therefore supported limiting the extension to March 4. The House had previously approved its own version of a CR that would have extended funding to the end of FY 2011 (September 30, 2011). AGC and our transportation and construction industry allies have been pressing Congress to approve the highway and transit authorization through September 30, 2011, to provide states with certainty in funding through the end of the fiscal year and to allow the new Congress time to address a multiyear transportation authorization measure. Both the House-passed CR and the Senate Omnibus bill included the nine month extension, but will now not be considered. In separate legislation, the programs and funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was approved through September 30.