AASHTO Journal, 22 March 2013
The House and Senate agreed to a deal this week to keep the federal government running through the remainder of the fiscal year (or through Sept. 30, 2013). The Continuing Resolution was passed by both the House and Senate and will now go to President Obama for his signature. The current part-year CR was set to expire on March 27. The CR deal includes MAP-21 funding levels for transportation.
The House first passed a CR earlier this month that made slight cuts to the transportation investment levels outlined in last year’s surface transportation bill, MAP-21. That CR cut the Federal-aid highways obligation limitation by almost $600 million, $125 million in transit formula and bus grants, and almost $60 million for highway safety programs. However, the Senate version provided for MAP-21 transportation funding levels (see related AASHTO Journal story here) for the Highway Trust Fund components of the bill. The cuts resulting from sequestration, however, remain in place, affecting highway safety and transit programs. The Senate passed its CR on Wednesday by a 73-26 vote.
On Thursday, the House took up the Senate version and passed the CR, complete with MAP-21 funding levels for transportation, by a vote of 318-109.
Additional information on the CR, including full bill text and summaries, is available here.