Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 65-34 to pass a long-term transportation funding re-authorization measure, known as the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act, to fund the nation’s highway, rail, and transit programs.
The DRIVE Act authorizes transportation funding for six years, but only identifies three years of financing. An agreement on the remaining three years of funding for the DRIVE Act would still need to be reached.
Senate leaders had hoped that the enactment of the DRIVE Act could occur before July 31, 2015 in order to continue the authorization of federal funding for various transportation programs. Given the House of Representatives’ declaration not to consider the Senate-passed legislation, the Senate voted for a three-month extension of the current authorization program. This followed the House’s adoption of a three-month extension. As such, authorization for projects funded by the Highway Trust Fund will extend to October 29, 2015. House leadership has stated they will work on a long-term transportation bill when Congress returns from August Recess.