Highway funding deadline looms, Oct. 29

Highway funding deadline looms, Oct. 29

Work on a transportation bill that would fund highways and other infrastructure has been pushed to the back burner as Pope Francis came to town and Congress scrambled to avert a government shutdown.

To add to the confusion, DOT announced that the $8 billion highway funding extension passed by Congress in July would cover payments to states for transporation projects until June, 2016. But Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx quickly followed that announcement by saying that the Highway Trust Fund would be at dangerously low levels in November, 2015 without a further cash infusion.

The Senate has passed a bill that sets up transportation programs for six years, but offers funding for only three. The House has not even brought a bill to committee. Republicans in the House are pushing to pay for highways with a tax on corporate profits earned overseas. Meanwhile, an October 29 deadline looms, and it appears unlikely the two chambers will work out a compromise on long-term funding before then.