Nearly 4,000 federal employees have been laid off after Congress allowed freeway funding to expire

Funding has expired because lawmakers haven’t voted on a larger infrastructure package as Democrats scramble for votes – though a plan may be underway for a temporary funding extension for the highway if necessary to mitigate fallout.

It is not known if lawmakers will move the stopgap Friday. No votes have been scheduled as Democratic leaders focus on talks between progressives and moderates for a deal to vote in the next few hours on the largest bipartisan infrastructure package of around $ 1,000 billion . The lack of funding could be used as leverage in these negotiations to spur lawmakers to strike a deal.

Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal told reporters on Friday she was not worried about passing a separate freeway extension bill, as Congress passed many extensions in the short term. term in the past.

But the lack of funding is already being felt. The holidays impact “approximately 3,700” employees, the spokesperson said, adding that the administration “continues to work closely with Congress to quickly re-authorize surface transportation programs.”

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said the failure “ends our highway safety, transit, and highway safety programs and halt work on vital transportation infrastructure across the country. which harms our economy and the quality of life of our communities ”.

Jim Tymon, executive director of the group, said that means “$ 50 billion in federal surface transportation programs backed by the Highway Trust Fund are on hold.”

The issue is impacting the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Federal Transit Administration, according to a DOT summary prepared earlier this week.