House adopts 30-day extension of surface transportation funding amid infrastructure deadlock

On Friday night, the House passed legislation to re-authorize funding for highway and transit construction programs that expired the day before in a bid to avoid thousands of workers’ holidays and suspended projects.

Lawmakers passed the 30-day interim measure on a bipartisan basis with a vote of 365-51.

The short-term extension is now heading to the Senate, which is expected to clear it up as early as Saturday and send it to President BidenJoe Biden France (and Britain) set to join four-time election denier overthrown by Idaho Secretary of State Under Biden, US could fall even further behind in the Arctic MOREthe office of.

The $ 1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which the Senate passed in August, would renew stale highway and transit programs until the end of the month. But as the House has yet to consider this bill amid internal Democratic feuds over negotiations for the broad social benefit package, transit programs expired at the end of the fiscal year Thursday.

About 3,700 Department of Transportation employees received notice of leave on Friday due to the forfeiture. State and local transportation officials said the impact would be minimal if federal funding only flowed for a day or two, but a longer shutdown would cause widespread delays in road and transit projects. .

“We must act now to avoid further ramifications for surface transportation programs,” said the chair of the House of Commons Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Peter DeFazioPeter Anthony DeFazio Transport funding expires after Pelosi withdraws infrastructure vote No deal: House delays infrastructure vote Lawmakers consider possible short-term extension of transportation programs MORE (Golden.).

A group of centrists originally secured a pledge from Democratic leaders last month that the bipartisan infrastructure bill would be passed in the House by September 27.

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiTransportation funding expires after Pelosi withdraws vote on infrastructure The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Alibaba – Democrats still disagree on Biden’s agenda (D-Calif.) Then postponed that vote to Thursday. But Democratic leaders ended up postponing that vote as progressives threatened to defeat the bipartisan infrastructure bill without a secure commitment from key Senate centrists on the welfare program.

With the House still stubbornly without a clear path to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, lawmakers have turned to a short-term expansion of surface transportation programs.

“While great progress has been made in negotiations to craft an agreement between the House, Senate and White House on the Build Back Better Act, more time is needed to complete the task,” Pelosi wrote in a letter. to lawmakers Friday night. “Clearly, the bipartisan infrastructure bill will be passed once we get agreement on the reconciliation bill. “

Biden curbed pressure from centrists to hold a vote on Friday after a roughly 40-minute meeting with House Democrats in the Capitol basement.

Biden told Democrats that the fate of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the welfare package should be linked, and that there was no rush at this time.

He also indicated that progressives should be prepared for a benefit package that is reduced from the current $ 3.5 trillion to something more like $ 2,000 billion.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s six minutes, six days or six weeks. We’re going to do it, ”Biden said after the meeting.

The House previously passed a $ 760 billion package in July to fund transportation and water projects. However, this package has not been taken up in the Senate since the bipartisan infrastructure bill negotiated by the Senators and the White House was chosen as the vehicle to renew the now expired transit programs.