Sept. 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Fiscal Year 2012 funding for the highway and transit programs at the same level as FY 2011. In addition, the bill provides an additional $1.9 billion in emergency relief funding and $550 million for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants Program. These funding levels contrast significantly from the bill approved earlier by the House transportation appropriations subcommittee which set funding at far lower levels. Those funding levels adhere to the principles set in a budget resolution passed in the House earlier this year, which directed that highway and transit funding be set at levels supported by Highway Trust Fund revenue.

Legislation to extend the federal highway and transit programs and the programs of the Federal Aviation Administration has passed the House and Senate. HR 2887, which would extend the SAFETEA-LU authorization for six months until March 31, 2012, and the FAA authorization for four and a half months until Jan. 31, 2012, was approved Tuesday by the House.  The bill would authorize funding at current levels and allow collection of the federal motor fuels tax and the airline ticket tax to continue.

By voice vote, the House today approved HR 2887, the Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011. The legislation extends authorization of the federal highway and transit programs for six months and the aviation programs for four and a half months. Included in the legislation is the authority to continue collecting the federal motor fuels tax which is set to expire on September 30, 2011. The legislation also extends authority to collect the airline ticket tax that supports that the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. The bill now goes to the Senate, where action is necessary before Friday, September 16 to avoid a second partial shutdown of FAA programs. The bill contained no policy provisions in an effort to avoid disputes that could keep the bill from moving forward in a timely fashion. However, there may be attempts to amend the bill in the Senate which could impact its timely approval.

Late Friday House and Senate leadership, along with key leaders of appropriate committees, agreed to terms for extending authorization for the highway, transit and aviation programs. Under the terms of the agreement the highway and transit programs will be extended for six months through March 31, 2012. The agreement allows the highway and transit programs to be funded at the current year’s funding for this six month period. A rescission of contract authority in the amount of $3.13 billion in the highway program will be included which does not immediately impact funding but could impact the program in the long term authorization bill. The agreement presumably allows time for House and Senate committees to continue working on a multi-year authorization bill.

On Thursday evening in an address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama outlined a $447 billion jobs creation proposal called the American Jobs Act that he plans to send Congress next week. The proposal is a combination of tax cuts, extension of unemployment benefits and investments in school-renovation projects and transportation infrastructure. President Obama said the plan will be paid for and he asked that the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka Super Committee) come up with additional deficit cuts necessary to offset the increased funding.

This afternoon, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) voted out their fiscal year 2012 funding bill which significantly slashes funding for Federal-aid highway and Federal Transit programs. AGC urged the subcommittee to refrain from making more cuts to construction accounts when considering the THUD bill.

This morning, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) unanimously passed out of their committee the Surface Transportation Act of 2012, a four-month extension of the surface transportation authorization.  The current extension is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2011.

Stephen E. Sandherr, the chief executive officer of AGC, spoke at a media event in Washington, D.C. with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. During his speech, Sandherr outlined the benefits of infrastructure investments, and called for congressional support of the proposal.

The nation’s rural roads and bridges are rapidly deteriorating, causing the fatality rate along back roads to triple the national average for highway fatalities, according to a new report on rural road conditions released today. The report’s findings prompted members of the business, construction and transportation communities to call for passage of long-delayed federal legislation to fund road repairs and bridge maintenance.

In a speech from the Rose Garden yesterday, President Barack Obama called on Congress to extend authorization of funding for the highway, transit and aviation programs as well as authorization for collecting the federal gas tax. The President warned of dire consequences for construction workers and their families across the country if these programs are allowed to lapse. AGC’s CEO, Stephen Sandherr, participated in the event to highlight the impact of inaction on the construction industry and to emphasize the need for Congress to act quickly upon its return from its August recess to ensure that a short term extension of the highway, transit and aviation programs are put in place and that a long term solution is found.