The House of Representatives voted 421-4 on March 2 to extend until Sept. 30 federal highway and transit programs that are slated to expire on March 4.
The bill — the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011, or H.R. 662 — will now go to the Senate.
The current federal surface transportation legislation, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), expired Sept. 30, 2009. It has since been extended with short-term measures, but a long-term reauthorization has not yet occurred. SAFETEA-LU’s predecessor bill, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21, was extended 12 times before SAFETEA-LU was passed.
H.R. 662 would set the total obligation limitation levels for transportation funding at $52.7 billion for FY 2011. The obligation authority consists of $42.46 billion for highway funding and $10.33 billion for mass transit funding. The level of obligation authority is the same as FY 2010.
H.R. 662 would set the total obligation limitation levels for transportation funding at $52.7 billion for FY 2011. The obligation authority consists of $42.46 billion for highway funding and $10.33 billion for mass transit funding. The level of obligation authority is the same as FY 2010.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) note that the vote came one day after the organization sent a letter to all members of Congress urging “a swift adoption” of the measure. The full text of the letter is available at bit.ly/Horsley030111.
“While AASHTO continues to support congressional efforts to enact a well-funded, long-term surface transportation bill, the absence of such a bill makes this extension essential to creating and sustaining jobs and maintaining America’s transportation infrastructure,” wrote AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley in the letter to Congress. “Furthermore, this extension provides much needed certainty for the construction industry, states, and localities as they begin the 2011 construction season.” (For a story from the AASHTO Journal about the measure, click here.)
