On August 8, 2014, President Barack Obama signed HR 5021 which will provide funding to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and an extension to the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) – our nation’s primary source of transportation funding – through May 31, 2015. HR 5021 is funded through a variety of funding mechanisms, including pension smoothing, an extension to expiring customs duties, and funding transfers from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. While passage of the bill will allow the Department of Transportation to avoid implementing cash management procedures that would draw back the amount and distribution of payments to states, the extension of funding to the HTF and MAP-21 is short-term in nature, and will require Congress to address issues of HTF funding shortfalls again early next year.
