In the wake of the May 31 expiration of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), President Obama on Friday signed a two-month extension of highway funding into law. The extension provides a stopgap for transit and road infrastructure programs, and allows for the deposit of tax revenue and new allocations of funds. Congress will need to find $11 billion dollars of funding by July 31 to hold the HTF until the end of the year.

A long-term solution for funding a multi-year bill that reauthorizes infrastructure projects across the country remains unclear. In addition, the Department of Transportation has yet to release its two-year study on truck weight and size, which was requested by Congress in the last long-term extension.

Committees of jurisdiction are already considering summer markups of a surface transportation reauthorization bill. Congress will have to resolve this funding issue by the time members head into their August recess.

IDFA is a member of the Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP) that supports increasing the federal gross vehicle weight limit on commercial trucks if they are properly equipped with an additional axle and meet the same safety standards as trucks currently allowed on interstates.

For more information, contact Chelsee Woodey, IDFA director of legislative affairs, at cwoodey@idfa.org.