Extending the Authorization of Surface Transportation Programs Thru December 3rd to Avoid a Lapse After October 31st (H.R. 5763)

What is H.R. 5763?

(Updated December 1, 2021)

This bill was enacted on October 31, 2021

This bill — the Further Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2021 — would extend the authorization of federal surface transportation programs to December 3, 2021, to avoid a lapse after the current extension ends after October 31st. It would also extend spending authority for the Highway Trust Fund, the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund through December 4th. 

Argument in favor

Congress needs to temporarily extend the authorization of surface transportation programs to prevent another lapse and shutdown of those programs from occurring. Extending the authorization through December 3rd gives time for lawmakers to reach an agreement that opens the door for the Senate-passed, longer-term reauthorization that’s part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Argument opposed

Progressives need to drop their demand that the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which includes a longer-term surface transportation reauthorization, be delayed until Democrats pass their larger social spending plan. Congress shouldn’t bother with another one month extension and should instead stay in session until progressives relent to allow the bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass.

Impact

Federal surface transportation programs and other related programs with authorizations expiring on October 31, 2021.

Cost of H.R. 5763

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced this short-term reauthorization of surface transportation programs to avoid a second authorization lapse in as many months. The programs experienced a brief authorization in late September when Democrats were unable to reach an agreement on their social spending plan, a dynamic which has played out again as progressive and moderate Democrats continue to work out the details of that package, which progressives have tethered to the bipartisan infrastructure bill and its long-term reauthorization of surface transportation programs.

The new deadline of December 3, 2021, aligns the authorization of surface transportation programs with the next deadline for funding federal agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2022, in addition to the notional date by which the debt limit must be increased (although that may be extended into early 2022 through the use of the Treasury Department’s extraordinary measures).

Media:

• Bill Text