U.S. House and Senate pass transportation funding patch

Last weekend, the U.S. Senate passed a legislative patch to extend transportation funding through July.

In a May 23 voice vote just before the Senate broke for the Memorial Day holiday, senators approved the patch to extend the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for two more months.

The Senate vote followed the passage of the patch a few days prior in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama’s desk, and he’s expected to sign it into law before the May 31 deadline for the HTF.

The HTF, financed by the federal gas tax, is the main source of funding for road projects. Funding was set to expire May 31 and run dry by August.

Expectations on Capitol Hill are that there will be another patch before the new deadline in July to extend HTF funding through the end of the year. The next patch would mark about two dozen short-term transportation patches in the last 12 years.