Civic Register
| 9.30.21

Highway Programs to Experience Authorization Lapse as Moderate & Progressive Democrats Negotiate Spending Bill

Should Congress pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill before Democrats strike a spending deal?

UPDATED - 9/30/21 11:20pm ET

  • Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that the House go into recess subject to the call of the chair Thursday night without voting on the bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes reauthorization of surface transportation programs that lapse at midnight, meaning they will lack authorization Friday morning and workers may be furloughed.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had signaled that she would bring the bill up for a vote when it had the votes, and the decision not to hold a vote indicates it still lacks support from enough Democrats to pass as moderates and progressives debate the scope of their reconciliation bill.
  • While negotiations have reportedly made progress, moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has held firm in his preference for a $1.5 trillion reconciliation bill topline instead of Democratic leaders' proposed $2.1 trillion. Progressives have declined to allow passage of the bipartisan infrastructure and surface transportation bill until Democrats reach a collective agreement on a reconciliation bill topline they believe is broad enough.
  • It's unclear to what extent the Dept. of Transportation will put into effect its operational plan for a lapse in surface transportation authorization. Roughly 3,500 workers may be temporarily furloughed until the House passes the bill or both chambers act on a short-term surface transportation extension to allow Democrats to conclude their intraparty negotiations.
  • The House will reconvene at 9:30am Friday morning and Pelosi may bring the package up for a vote if a deal is reached.

The original article appears below.

What’s the story?

  • Both chambers of Congress on Thursday approved a stopgap funding bill to prevent a partial government shutdown from occurring at midnight tonight that was signed into law by President Joe Biden this evening.
  • However, ongoing negotiations between moderate and progressive Democrats over a sweeping “social infrastructure” spending package to be passed through reconciliation threatens a lapse in the authorization for highway programs at midnight. A vote may occur late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

What’s happening with Democrats’ intraparty negotiations?

  • Moderates want House Democrats to allow the passage of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package tonight, which includes reauthorization of numerous surface transportation programs under the Dept. of Transportation. Those programs face an authorization lapse of numerous surface transportation programs, including all federal-aid highway programs, at midnight if Congress fails to act.
  • They also argued for a smaller reconciliation package, such as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) who released a statement saying he “can’t support $3.5 trillion more in spending when we have already spent $5.4 trillion since last March.” Manchin explained that proposing “a historic expansion of social programs while ignoring the fact that we are not in a recession and that millions of jobs remain open will only feed a dysfunction that could weaken our economic recovery.” A leaked memo from this past summer indicated Manchin told Democratic leadership he could only support a $1.5 trillion bill.
  • Progressive Democrats have threatened to vote to block the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill in the House unless the moderates commit to supporting a reconciliation package that’s large enough for progressives to get behind. 
  • Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a statement that a topline of $1.5 trillion, as Manchin privately suggested over the summer, would “mean decimating vital, important programs for working families” and that “clearly $1.5 trillion would make it absolutely impossible for us to do what has to be done in order to address the crisis of climate.” 
  • Another issue dividing the sides is whether an agreement on a reconciliation framework that moderates and progressives alike support is sufficient. Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has indicated a framework alone isn't enough and that she wants the Senate to pass the reconciliation bill before progressives allow the bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass.
  • When their reconciliation bill reaches the floor Democrats will need near-unanimous support from their caucus because of their threadbare majorities in both chambers: Democrats can’t afford to lose a single vote from a senator and can only lose three votes in the House.
  • House Democrats will also need to be largely in sync on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan “hard” infrastructure package given that only 19 Republican senators (less than half of the GOP conference) voted for the bill, and the proportion of House GOP lawmakers who vote for it is expected to be smaller. Republicans have rallied against the bill due to Democrats tying together the fates of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the partisan reconciliation bill. 

What happens with the transportation programs if there is an authorization lapse?

  • Several thousand Dept. of Transportation workers could be temporarily furloughed starting on Friday if Congress doesn’t reauthorize the programs by the morning.
  • On past occasions when a lapse in appropriations or a program’s authorization has caused federal workers at an agency to be furloughed, Congress has retroactively approved back pay for affected workers when it passes legislation to fund or reauthorize the program (although that process may take weeks).


— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / WLDavies)

  • 57
    Tami
    10/28/2021

    This infrastructure bill needs passed with everything in it. Keep our country great and raise taxes on the rich and rid ourselves of other ridiculous spending to pay for this! Do your jobs!!

  • 228
    pscott74
    10/12/2021

    another no win. The bipartisan bill was negotiated with some items neither side likes, but with the thought this the only bill. Doing both bills sounds like wishing to get more than negotiated.

  • 27
    Joyce
    10/07/2021

    No "infrastructure" b.s....and no debt ceiling increase. And toss out the bloated pork-filled spending bill, it should be LESS than the previous year, not more. We are almost $30 TRILLION in debt for crissakes!

  • 3,405
    Adel
    10/06/2021

    The next time you ask this question I am going to say........"I don't care". Get it? You are wearing us down. People don't care much anymore about this crap. It isn't moving. It is like a Russian Novel. Here's another SCHOOL SHOOTING ON THE NEWS RIGHT NOW!

  • 152
    Don
    10/05/2021

    We the people do not want either of these bills to begin with. To the government officials I do have some respect for Rick Scott ,Ron DeSantis ,Marco Rubio ,Ted Cruz, Ron Paul ,keep up the good work do not let these bills pass. Also get the lunatics out of office as soon as possible Joe Biden has performed high treason against the United States he nor Harris Pelosi or the Fab five belong in government trying to destroy and segregate this country further. Eliminate these bills one way or another filibuster however you can. contact your Democratic friends and let them know this is not what the people want ! the people elect the officials ! the officials don’t do what they want they do what the people want.!! Lose big government create the money that way******

  • 310
    Brian
    10/05/2021

    Fix our roads and bridges! That is the only thing I elected you idiots to do.

  • 41.9k
    jimK
    10/03/2021

    Dave C: Thanks for the ‘nomination’ and complement. I have been offline for much for the past two days: been killing alien invaders from outer space electronically with my youngest son and daughter-in-law and today, watched the Browns offense play miserably yet still manage to win. In real life, I am too old and way too cranky to be any kind of politician, but I am truly gratified that some of my day dream comments are appreciated or that anyone takes the time to read the more verbose entries. We have a solid community of solid thinking people on this site and it is a great pleasure to learn from that group, yourself and select others included. Peace Out!

  • 416
    Robert
    10/04/2021

    Squabbling, time and effort wasted, people hurt because we do not have a reasonable budget system. After all the legislating, the real bottom line comes from the finance committee that authorizes bill payment. The bills are paid, the money is spent, and instead of legislators lowering and raising budget areas throughout the government in cooperation, the debt ceiling (credit card limit) is raised. That is when tax money is burned on credit interest costs. Closing some tax loopholes on and decreasing payments to the less moral would allow more money to be budgeted where the country needs it. Much of the $7.8 trillion costs incurred under the last administration did not really improve our country physically and in some areas, more harm such as opening protected lands for mining and drilling. Point is that money will be spent regardless of the squabbling and the only real difference is do we want to pay to maintain and repair bridges, roads, electrical, gas, water, sewer systems or do we want to wait until catastrophic events happen that kill people so a lot more money can be borrowed to correct the accident rather than fixing the initial deficiencies when it was affordable.

  • 101
    Janice
    10/03/2021

    They are going to end up with nothing. Am sick of all these politicians who are more concerned with themselves than for the people. The Republicans sit by and do nothing. The Democrats argue amongst themselves. Is it any wonder I am an Independent.

  • 41.9k
    jimK
    10/01/2021

    The Congress should not pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill until they can get the Democratic Senators on-board with the Build Back Better Reconciliation package. If they do, the other plan will just die. To be clear, the interest rate for the government borrowing is still at record lows and will be for a while. Right now, the government can borrow funds for this ten year investment at only 1.8% interest. That rate will increase as the world begins to recover from the pandemic and as more and more countries will be borrowing to cope with the Climate Crisis which will become much worse than it is now. … … … The Dems may have to quickly move to raise the debt ceiling as part of the reconciliation package because the Republican Faction would rather let it lapse which will very costly overall but also takes away the low borrowing interest rate that makes funding this effort now especially cost effective. Oh, Manchin - that is the reason for the urgency to get the reconciliation package together now - nimrod! … … … It is frankly stupid to waste this opportunity while it is available. It is not a drag on the economy as the tax cuts to the wealthy were - there is no and there has never been any return on that ‘investment’. The reconciliation bill is an investment in our country’s future which will have great long term economic benefit. It is paid for by moderate tax increases for single people earning more than $400K (and over something higher for joint filers), by restoring the IRS forensic auditing capabilities to catch wealthy tax cheats who very skillfully game the tax system, and eliminating the use of tax code changes made to help lower income families gleefully being used by the wealthy. How many electric vehicles did Bezos buy to cash in on tax incentives intended for families to purchase electric vehicles? How was he able to claim losses exceeding his $1.8 Billion income and then claim tax credits intended to help poor families with children? … … … Ford Motor has recently borrowed $11 Billion to build electric vehicle and battery production plants. This is a huge investment, even for Ford. They would not have made this investment if they did not see a profitable return on that investment. Just how is Biden’s investment in the future of our country in actuality, any different? … … … The Climate Crisis is the biggest BFD on our country’s horizon which will require an empowered and mobilized workforce, a better educated and re-educated population able to resolve the many interacting issues that will come and a large investment in clean energy, better agricultural practices to reduce green house gas emissions and large scale deployment of technologies which we currently do not yet have. Biden’s initiatives are all complementary and synergistic; they are precisely the actions that are needed for our country’s requisite effort to overcome the worsening climate crisis. … … … The Climate Crisis will become our World War Three effort requiring alliances, agreements and commitments from world friends and foes alike to defeat the common enemy, a man-made climate catastrophe which must be defeated before it can permanently affect future human life as we know it. … … … Conservatism tries to protect the ‘what was’. Progressivism proactively anticipates the future to protect from the ‘what is coming’. We are at a point where even principled conservatism must take a back seat so we have an opportunity to win the Climate War which will have to be fought whether we want to fight it or not. We cannot win this war if we try to save money while funding it. This risks of underfunding our effort are far more costly in terms of human suffering and huge long term economic losses than the risks associated with possibly overfunding it. … … … These earliest stages of the Climate Crisis are occurring exactly as climate scientists have predicted albeit faster than originally thought. To ignore what is assuredly coming, to ignore what must be done to prevent the worst possible outcomes, to protect near term profits from industries which will have to downsized and redefined, to bury our heads in the sand or to try to just ‘market-talk’ it away are all just profoundly irresponsible and stupid tactics.

  • 468
    burrkitty
    10/02/2021

    The military bill passed with nary a blink. It was twice that total of this.

  • 127
    Nancie
    10/02/2021

    No. Then the Republicans will rip apart the second part.

  • 3,878
    Ronald
    10/02/2021

    The Congress should not pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill until they can get the Democratic Senators on-board with the Build Back Better Reconciliation package. If they do, the other plan will just die. To be clear, the interest rate for the government borrowing is still at record lows and will be for a while. Right now, the government can borrow funds for this ten year investment at only 1.8% interest. That rate will increase as the world begins to recover from the pandemic and as more and more countries will be borrowing to cope with the Climate Crisis which will become much worse than it is now. … … … The Dems may have to quickly move to raise the debt ceiling as part of the reconciliation package because the Republican Faction would rather let it lapse which will very costly overall but also takes away the low borrowing interest rate that makes funding this effort now especially cost effective. Oh, Manchin - that is the reason for the urgency to get the reconciliation package together now - nimrod! … … … It is frankly stupid to waste this opportunity while it is available. It is not a drag on the economy as the tax cuts to the wealthy were - there is no and there has never been any return on that ‘investment’. The reconciliation bill is an investment in our country’s future which will have great long term economic benefit. It is paid for by moderate tax increases for single people earning more than $400K (and over something higher for joint filers), by restoring the IRS forensic auditing capabilities to catch wealthy tax cheats who very skillfully game the tax system, and eliminating the use of tax code changes made to help lower income families gleefully being used by the wealthy. How many electric vehicles did Bezos buy to cash in on tax incentives intended for families to purchase electric vehicles? How was he able to claim losses exceeding his $1.8 Billion income and then claim tax credits intended to help poor families with children? … … … Ford Motor has recently borrowed $11 Billion to build electric vehicle and battery production plants. This is a huge investment, even for Ford. They would not have made this investment if they did not see a profitable return on that investment. Just how is Biden’s investment in the future of our country in actuality, any different? … … … The Climate Crisis is the biggest BFD on our country’s horizon which will require an empowered and mobilized workforce, a better educated and re-educated population able to resolve the many interacting issues that will come and a large investment in clean energy, better agricultural practices to reduce green house gas emissions and large scale deployment of technologies which we currently do not yet have. Biden’s initiatives are all complementary and synergistic; they are precisely the actions that are needed for our country’s requisite effort to overcome the worsening climate crisis. … … … The Climate Crisis will become our World War Three effort requiring alliances, agreements and commitments from world friends and foes alike to defeat the common enemy, a man-made climate catastrophe which must be defeated before it can permanently affect future human life as we know it. … … … Conservatism tries to protect the ‘what was’. Progressivism proactively anticipates the future to protect from the ‘what is coming’. We are at a point where even principled conservatism must take a back seat so we have an opportunity to win the Climate War which will have to be fought whether we want to fight it or not. We cannot win this war if we try to save money while funding it. This risks of underfunding our effort are far more costly in terms of human suffering and huge long term economic losses than the risks associated with possibly overfunding it. … … … These earliest stages of the Climate Crisis are occurring exactly as climate scientists have predicted albeit faster than originally thought. To ignore what is assuredly coming, to ignore what must be done to prevent the worst possible outcomes, to protect near term profits from industries which will have to downsized and redefined, to bury our heads in the sand or to try to just ‘market-talk’ it away are all just profoundly irresponsible and stupid tactics.

  • 41.9k
    jimK
    10/01/2021

    Joe Manchin’s ‘very principled’ arguments against the reconciliation package seem to be a moving target. Every time he gets a concession that undercuts his current ‘very principled’ arguments, he comes up with a new ‘very principled’ argument that undercuts the new concession. Wow, he mimics the side show vaudeville act put on by Moscow Mitch and Linseed Lindsey! … … … This is the same guy that argued that their must be compromise with Republicans to arrive at the bipartisan infrastructure bill, because compromise is sooooo important - but not so such with his Democratic colleagues. I guess he must feel that the 70% of WV voters that support the Biden plan (across all voting demographics) are just too stupid to see what he is doing. … … … Joe, if you are voted out of office for ignoring the will of your constituents, you will assuredly lose your big-oil and coal benefactors.… … … WV voters, don’t let this carpet-bagging smooth-talker cheat you out of what you are telling him that you support and don’t let our country become a country of, by and for the PAC instead of, by and for the people. … … … Joe Manchin: I call bull shit! … Prove me wrong!

  • 2,414
    Martha
    10/02/2021

    YES-get it done and get it done NOW. Do your damn jobs and quit dicking around. You were not elected to sit on you asses and do nothing or oppose programs/bills that will be of benefit to the average American. It might be well for you all to remember who pays your salaries. If you assholes worked in private industries you would have been fired years ago.

  • 3,039
    Dorothy
    10/01/2021

    @Michael777. I agree, your comments are so true. Let’s be brutally candid, Manchin and Sinema are corrupt corp hacks out to line their own pockets at our expense. They are abusing their positions and punch drunk on power.

  • 666
    Dave
    10/01/2021

    If the Infrastructure bill is passed now, the reconciliation bill will be dead in the water. Blah blah blah. But today’s real story is Joe Manchin talking down from his huge yacht -houseboat to progressives in their itty bitty kayaks bobbing in the water with their signs. God bless them. He is such a two faced liar! I am furious with this jerk. He knows that a tax increase for all the ass holes such as he, will pay for these initiatives over the proposed 10 year implementation of these proposals with no problem and that the interest rate to borrow right now is at record lows. He is a greedy fossil fuel son of a bitch who’s ego is out of control. His soft spoken bullshit rhetoric promoting bipartisanship and fiscal responsibility is a cover for his devious abuse of power and he could care less what happens as long as he retains his status. What a loser.

  • 666
    Dave
    10/01/2021

    I suggest we create a new cabinet position: Secretary of Everything and nominate jimK for the position. He has once again laid out terrific explanations, comments and solutions concerning more topics than I could ever hope to understand. Your rational voice is important and needs to be heard far beyond this forum. I hope a few politicians read what you post and maybe take it to heart. A guy can hope, right?

  • 2,427
    Glowurm
    10/01/2021

    My, JimK, you are quite the tiger today! 😊😊❤️❤️. Go get them, my friend! 🙃🤗

  • 1,696
    Kathleen
    10/02/2021

    If humans expect to survive in the near future then things need to happen. The climate drives the weather and man has f***ed with the climate long enough! We can't afford to wait any longer! Prioritize and follow through. Stop bickering and get to work! We are running out of time! Take off the damn blinders! It costs money to fix things and the longer you wait to fix it it gets worse and ends up costing you more. Hence our infrastructure. Nothing lasts forever especially when it's not taken care of. It's common sense really. Everyone needs to get their heads out of their asses and get things done...like it or not! We do not hide behind the commands of corporations who apparently run the country because our government is bought and paid for. This sh** needs to stop! They don't like it they can get the f*** out of this country and move to another!!! All the dark money waisted when it could actually be put to necessary use to save this country. Everyone has to do their part and cooperate to make the necessary changes because it's no longer maybe later...it's now! It's no longer a game! Stop thinking about the NOW and think about your children's future. The current path does not lead to any future for them. Instead they'll be trying to survive in a toxic atmosphere and they'll have to wear gas masks and you anti-maskers whine about little face masks! Money will be useless because due to the toxic atmosphere there won't be livestock to stock grocery stores shelves. Then there's the polluted seas so no seafood either. They'll be trying to find food, clean water and shelter from the devastating storms. Things are happening all around you right NOW! Droughts! Wildfires! Floods! Food insecurities! Homelessness! Animals, birds, fish, plants and insects going extinct! It is going to get worse! But as long as you have your pockets lined...NOW...you don't seem to give a rat's ass about the future of mankind but the children do! Is this what you want for them? Apparently you must because you are not doing what is necessary right NOW! It's disgusting! It's shameful! You can't say it's childish behavior because the children DO know better than you! That's very very sad. You believe stupid ridiculous conspiracy theories but not what's right in front of your faces!